Touched by Death
by frekat
Summary: We were forced to grow up too fast, faster than we should have. I was an idiotic pervert turned scavenging expert and I was keeping the stronghold alive. The undead roam the streets and the survivors are in hiding, waiting until the day that they can live normally. That day will never come, though, as fate has other plans for everyone...and those plans involve the supernatural...
1. Chapter 1

Shit.

I can't believe I had lost Matsuda and Motohama the way I did. Saving some random girl was the worst decision we could have made as we could have died or have been injured, but what has been done is irreversible. Motohama and Matsuda are lost out in the quiet city and I'm guiding a girl to our base of operations.

"Where are we going?" The girl had whispered as I peered around the corner of a wall. Three walking sacks of flesh milling about in the street. I clicked my tongue in annoyance and turned to face the girl.

"We're going to Kuoh Academy. It's a stronghold that I've put my heart and soul into building these past two weeks." The girl nodded, her violet eyes shining as tears formed in the corners of them, and I smiled in response, "Everything's going to be alright. Keep your head low and follow me."

I grabbed her small hand and burst out into the street, passing the first _thing_ , dodging a hand that it had thrown out to try and grab me. I snaked past the second by a hair and had passed the third by a mile, a grin on my face.

The sprint back home was always the best part my daily outings, no matter how dangerous or boring it was. It always filled me with adrenaline as there was a sense of urgency once my feet started forming a pattern, even though there usually wasn't anything to worry about.

Two more of those monsters stumbled out from behind a wall, blocking the path. I grit my teeth and pulled out my pocket knife, flipping it open with my thumb, "Stay back for a second." I let go of the girl's hand and charged forward, my knife raised.

I ducked under a clumsy lunge from the first one and threw my knife up into its neck, digging it in as far as I could before I sliced the blade outward, meeting some heavy resistance as the flesh and other bodily insides denied the blade any type of smooth movement.

I let go of the knife when I realised it wouldn't cut through the flesh and turned to the side, raising an arm to grab the next monster by the neck, throwing it to the side as I felt the breath of the first one on my neck. I turned around and grabbed my knife and yanked it out of the neck, closing the knife before I grabbed the monster by the neck and head with both hands.

I twisted the head to one side and grinned in satisfaction as the bones and vertebrae easily snapped without much resistance. I dropped the corpse of the first monster and turned to the face the second one once again, noticing that it was struggling to get to its feet.

I walked over to it and pressed a boot against the back of its head, forcing its cheek to the ground. With as much force as I could muster, I pulled my foot back into the air and slammed it down onto the skull. The grey matter of the skull exploded all over the bitumen, blood exploding all up my leg and all over the road.

I turned to face the girl again, "You better hurry. The three we passed are gaining on you." The girl nodded with wide, teary eyes and jogged up to my side. I glanced at her as I was facing the front, noticing the fear in her eyes, "Don't worry. I'm not going to eat you." The girl looked up at me and then down at the road, her cheeks flushing red.

"The way you fight is cool…but it's also scary at the same time…" I sighed and ran a bloody hand through my hair unconsciously, clicking my tongue in annoyance when I noticed my idiotic action. I glanced down at the girl again before I peeked over my shoulder, seeing the three things we had passed devour the body of their own people.

"I do whatever I need to do to survive." The girl didn't say anything else after that, opting to stare at the ground the whole time with her arms by her side. I, however, shifted the backpack I had on my shoulder every few seconds as it was quite heavy.

I had hit a jackpot this morning while scavenging the local area. The houses around Kuoh were sucked dry of everything we could take, such as televisions, game consoles, board games, food, clothes, underwear and other daily needs that would help us survive, but the outer reaches were stacked full of stuff.

We were thankful that the water and electricity has stayed on for as long as it has, though, as we expected it to go down in the first week. It went to show us what we knew about our new lives as everything we expected was sometimes shot down by things we weren't expecting. An example of that is the water and electricity continuing to run.

But that didn't matter too much. They were an added bonus as everyone valued their lives more than anything. We didn't care if we didn't have water or electricity. As long as we had food and bottle water, we could survive without much of an issue.

"A-are we nearly there?" The girl broke me from my thoughts. I glanced down at her and surveyed our surroundings, noting the oddly empty streets that led up to Kuoh Academy. The streets were usually packed with our damn enemies, so seeing the streets empty for once was concerning but relieving for a change. We'll never know if the front gate will be able to survive a full onslaught, after all.

"We're nearly there. If there are no interruptions, it should only take us a few more minutes. You're going to be safe soon, I promise." The girl nodded and tucked a stray strand of her raven black hair behind her ear, glancing up at me for the umpteenth time that afternoon.

I peered around a wall that would reveal the street that led to the large school, wincing at the sights I saw. It was not very pretty and it was not something I wanted to see as there was a large horde of the things milling around the front gate and fence, my only option of entry. I turned to face the girl, "We're going to have to hide in a house for a while."

I stepped up onto my toes and peered over the fence and into a small yard, immediately noticing the smashed glass of a window and a blood trail on the grass. I glanced at the girl and yanked my walkie talkie from the small satchel on my pocket, flicking it on with a sigh before I pressed down on a button.

Batteries weren't hard to come across, but we really should be valuing them as they'll run out eventually, "Tetsuya, you there?" I let go of the button and waited in anticipation, sighing in relief as a crackling sound came from the black box.

" _Loud and clear, Issei. What's the situation?"_ I peered around the corner once more to make sure the horde hadn't noticed the sound of the walkie talkie, pulling it up to my face.

"A horde is blocking the gate. Anything you guys could do?" A sigh came from the walkie talkie. I popped back into cover and tilted my head to look past the girl, noting any and all escape routes just in case something went wrong.

" _Unfortunately, we're out of firecrackers. We ran out two days ago, remember? We've been meaning to use the science lab to figure out how to make more, but most of us are too afraid to do anything dangerous."_ I sighed and crossed my arms, tapping a foot impatiently.

"I guess I'll have to wait, then. Oh, by the way, can you try and contact Matsuda? We split up trying to save a girl and I haven't had the chance to contact him. I'd appreciate it if you could get back to me if I'm not in the school by that time, as well." I peered around the corner again and glanced down at the other end of the street, clicking my tongue when I noticed that that direction was blocked by a mini-horde as well.

" _Will do, my friend. I'll see you later, then!"_ Tetsuya's voice cut out from the walkie talkie with a sigh. I placed the walkie talkie back into its slot and turned to face the girl, noticing the confusion of her face. I inhaled deeply and pushed myself up against the wall, holding both of my hands at the height of my waist.

"The only safe place is in here. You'll have to use my hand as a boost to climb over." The girl nodded, stepped up to where my hand was and lifted her leg, only to lower it with a blush. I glanced down at her fidgeting hands and noticed the red checker skirt she was wearing for the first time since meeting her.

My mouth formed an 'o' shape as I looked around the immediate area, looking for anything that could be used as a boost. I found nothing, though, and found out that I'd need to climb up the stone wall, sit on the top and pull the girl over.

"I'm climbing over, then. Can you hold this?" I shrugged my backpack off of my shoulders and held it out with a grin, chuckling when the girl nearly dropped it as I let go of it. She glared at me.

"What the hell's in here!?" I turned to face the wall, grabbed the top of it and took a deep breath, preparing to pull myself up onto the wall. I glanced at the girl first, though, my grin still present on my face.

"Oh, you know, a few litres of water and a few kilograms of canned and packeted food." The girl huffed in annoyance and quietly dropped the bag on the ground, still staring up at me. I looked up at the top of the wall and bounced once, twice and then thrice as I mustered all of my strength to get me up the wall.

I succeeded on my first try and grinned as my two weeks of strenuous work had made an effect on my physical strength. I shook the grin off of my face and pivoted my body's position on the wall, holding a hand out expectantly as the girl stared up at me. My grin faltered as she did nothing, "You know you can give me my backpack now, right?" The girl huffed and turned her head, crossing her arms.

"It's too heavy for me to lift." My jaw dropped. I was too surprised to move or notice the fact that one of the monsters had stumbled around the corner, followed by a couple more as I stared down at the girl.

One of them groaned, forcing my head to snap itself in the direction the sound came from, "Hey, umm, ignore my backpack for now, okay? You just need to get over here." The girl looked at the monsters with wide eyes and nodded quickly when she turned to face me, her hand already outstretched.

I grabbed both of them with my own and pulled, trying to not fall off of the wall in whatever direction I would, a pit forming in my stomach. The monsters were becoming awfully close to the girl and I couldn't help but feel a little antsy.

"Come on…" I had muttered, sweat forming on my forehead. I wasn't having much luck with pulling the girl up, and there was no way the girl could use her feet to help her up as the surface of the wall was entirely smooth, not to mention the black pumps she was wearing.

"I'm going to make it, right?" The girl had panic evident in her voice. The monsters were a few meters away and were steadily gaining on us as the seconds passed by. I glanced at the girl, my backpack and then the oncoming horde and furrowed my brow.

I needed to make a decision.

Save the girl? Save myself? Sacrifice the girl and sneakily grab my backpack before I escape?

I shook my head and grit my teeth. This girl was going to live, no matter what. I wouldn't let those inhumane and dark thoughts start to appear in my mind as I wasn't like that. I was never going to let those thoughts consume me as no one deserves to suffer the pain of being eaten alive because of someone's selfish desire.

With one last heave, I pulled her up and over the wall, falling onto my back as the sudden demonstration of my strength that was combined with the weight of the girl had forced me over the wall.

I grunted in pain when the girl landed on top of me and sighed as the sounds of the monsters scratching the wall reached my ears. We were safe for now, but who knows how long it will last? The girl scrambled off of me and sat on her knees, looking down at me with worry in her eyes, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Are you okay!?"

I raised a hand and sat up, coughing slightly as I regained the breath that had escaped my chest. Before we said anything, we needed to get inside and into a room on the second storey of the home. The bottom floor was always dangerous as there were a numerous amount of entrances, but the second floor only had one entrance which was the staircase.

The missing weight of my trusty backpack was disappointing and uncomfortable, though, as I pushed myself to my feet with a crack of a vertebrae in my back, "Let's head inside. It's not safe in here." The girl nodded and stood up as well, following behind me as I pulled my pocket knife out of my pocket.

I held it in the air and stepped inside, surveying my surroundings. A broken down door that had blood stains all over it, a corpse that has been eaten beyond any recognition of who the person may have been and a door that was slightly ajar in the direction of the room. The living room was a mess.

I ignored the state of the room in favour of pursuing the staircase, though, as the smell of the decomposing corpse and old blood was overwhelming. I gagged when I had first stepped inside, "Stay close behind me. There's probably a straggler in here." I glanced at the girl and saw her nod, sticking herself to my back.

I slowly walked through the room, all senses aware as my body was tense and ready for action. I glanced at the staircase as it came into sight and smiled, rushing right for it. I jumped over a chair that was on its side and peered up the staircase, sighing when I saw nothing blocking it. We were nearly safe.

The girl screamed as she was tackled to the ground, one of the monsters pinning her in place as it snarled and groaned at her. I turned around and sprinted right for it, attempting to leap over the chair. I hit it with a foot and tripped, landing on my chest and spluttering as I became winded, my knife skidding across the floorboards of the ground. The girl raised her hands and held the monster inches away from her face, screaming for help.

I attempted to push myself to my feet, struggling to breathe. I couldn't quite walk, so I fell onto all fours and crawled towards my knife, clumsily grabbing it as my vision began to dim. I grit my teeth and felt my lungs tighten and strain themselves as I pushed myself to my feet, staggering and falling into the wall as I walked over to where the girl was screaming.

There was banging on the front door, and if I was able to breathe, I would have certainly sworn at our current situation. I stumbled over to the girl, saw that she was slowly being overpowered and grabbed the monster by its filthy black hair, pulling its head back to reveal its bloody face. I grit my teeth, pulled my knife back and jammed it through its forehead, watching it slowly lose all of its movement.

I threw it to the side and collapsed to my knees after I had retrieved my knife, holding my chest. I was surely going to pass out soon if I didn't start breathing again and that would warrant a death wish. The front door splintered once as the monsters beat down on it as hard as they can.

I glanced at the girl, pulled her to her feet and stumbled over to the staircase, pulling her up it as her eyes were wide with fear. I reached the top of the staircase, fell onto my knees once again and let my arms collapse under the weight of my body.

I wasn't going to start breathing, no matter how much I try.

The girl looked down at me with panic spreading across her face, "What do I do!?" She shouted, kneeling down next to me. I rolled onto my back and heard the door splinter once more, my eyes squeezing themselves shut. I pointed to my chest and hit it a few times, feeling my lungs rise once.

The girl hurriedly nod and beat down on my chest, slowly restoring the oxygen to my chest. I stared up at the white ceiling and heard the door splinter once again. The girl continued to hammer down on my chest.

I gasped and spluttered as all of the air returned to my lungs at once, forcing me to cough violently as the door was beaten down by the monsters, _"Issei, you doing fine, buddy? I heard some screaming and decided to look down at the streets with my binoculars. All I see are the infected swarming a house. You're making me worried."_

I pushed myself to my feet and glanced down at the staircase, continuing my violent coughing fit. The monsters were slowly climbing the staircase one by one, clawing at each other as they were desperate to be the first ones to sink their teeth into us.

I grit my teeth and forced my coughing to stop, slowly breathing, "Follow me!" I burst into the nearest room and grinned when I noticed that it was a bedroom. I slammed the door behind us once the girl ran in after me and hurried over to a large wooden dresser, pulling it over towards the door as it was right up against the wall. It wouldn't budge, "I need some help, princess! We're going to die soon!"

The first undead bashed on the door, forcing the frame to shake and splutter under its force. The girl rushed over to the dresser and helped me to pull it. It was inching closer and closer towards the door, but at the rate we were pushing it, we weren't going to make it in time.

I rushed behind the drawer as we had made a gap and pushed with all of my might, leaving the pulling to the girl. I angled it and pushed it towards the door frame, my body sweating and aching as I forced all of my strength into blocking the door.

I grunted and spluttered, feeling the sweat roll down my forehead. The door splintered again, a large wooden chip flying into the air. I shut my eyes and took a deep breath, preparing to put all of my strength into one final push. The girl stepped to the side as she was starting to become trapped between the door and the dresser

I yelled with as much vigour as I could and forced the dresser into place, gasping for air as the monsters were still bashing the door down with as much force as they could. But we were safe. Even if they did break the door down, the wooden dresser wouldn't allow the monsters to gain entry.

Knowing that we were safe, I slid down the side of the dresser and sighed in relief, my eyes shut. I lazily yanked the walkie talkie from its satchel and raised it to my face, clicking the button down, "Tetsuya, it's me. The girl and I are safe for now."

The walkie talkie crackled to life.

" _That's great! You never fail to disappoint, Issei!"_ I chuckled and lowered my arm, feeling my mind drift away.

"Rest while you can. We're going to escape soon and reach proper safety, so we better be prepared. I might go back for my backpack as well." I heard the sound of fabric rustling on fabric, followed by the creaking of a bed as the undead lost all interest in the door as they could not break it down, slowly wandering away.

I sighed.

We were living in a wonderland that was touched by death and there was never a dull moment.

* * *

 **Welcome to this story, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I put my heart and soul into writing it, so it better be good! I have recently finished a story called Totally Normal, as well, so some of you readers may be coming from there. If so, welcome back!**

 **Did you like/dislike this chapter? Leave a review or a PM that tells me why you did or did not! Did you like/dislike this introduction and/or twist on the DxD universe? Leave a review or a PM that tells me why!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

" _Oi, Issei, Delta wants to know where you are…Issei, you there?"_ I lolled my head around on the base of my neck and groaned out of annoyance. My eyes slowly flickered open with some heavy resistance, and once I could see where I was and what I was doing, I stretched my neck and cursed the dark. I hadn't realised that I had fallen asleep almost instantly after the close calls I had had this afternoon, but I didn't mind too much. I was in a safe place and that was all that mattered.

I stretched my arms out in front of me and grabbed my walkie talkie from its satchel, pulling it to my face, "I'm here, Tetsuya. By Delta you mean Kimito Yuki, right? That quiet kid that somehow found a pistol on a scavenging mission?" I rolled a few kinks out of my neck and sighed in satisfaction as I felt something crack, shivering from the pleasure.

" _Yeah, that kid. He insists that we call him Delta…you of all people should know that. You've been on a few scavenging missions with him."_ I pushed myself to my feet with my free hand and stretched out my back, bending back as far as I comfortably could. The girl whose name I had yet to learn was fast asleep on the only bed in the room, hiding under the covers.

"Oh, right. He didn't really say much and opted to only make some seriously weird jokes at the worst of times, but he didn't even tell me to call him 'Delta'. He's a little weird, but he's valuable." I walked over to a window that coincidentally faced the gates to Kuoh and peered out into the darkness, grinning when I noticed the empty streets.

" _I can see you in a window, Issei! Smile for the camera!"_ I rose a hand and smiled awkwardly, the walkie talkie sitting on a wooden stand at the end of the bed. I saw a flash far off in the distance and felt my grin falter ever so slightly.

"So you really have a camera?" I heard some chuckling on the other end of the walkie talkie and then a remark of realisation.

" _Before I forget, I managed to contact Matsuda and Motohama. They're hanging around in the safe house on the edge of the city. Said they'll come back tomorrow with or without your assistance. Somehow."_ I sighed in relief and leaned against the wall next to the window, my arms crossed with the walkie talkie comfortably held in a hand.

"I'm glad they're safe. Wouldn't know what I'd do without them as there's only really six of us scavengers, so losing two of them would be a disaster. We'd have no chance of training anyone new." I glanced over at the bed and saw some slight movements that were followed by a moan.

" _I agree. Good job with that smart thinking of yours, by the way. Earlier, when you and that girl were being chased, I didn't think you'd survive. It was almost the end of the line for you two."_ I sighed and ran my hand through my hair, furrowing my brow as I felt the dried up blood I had accidentally put on it coat the separate strands. I glanced down at my clothes and grimaced as I noticed the blood that was soaking the majority of my jeans and my hoodie. I wouldn't be able to wash the blood out of them, so the cloth will have to be scrapped and used for something else.

"It was pretty close. I winded myself trying to save the girl from a straggler that I didn't realise was in the house and that screw up nearly killed us. They broke through the front door when I only just regained my breathing. From there, you saw the rest." The line was awfully silent.

" _Will it be weird for me to say that I practically watched you sleep the whole time?"_ I lowered the arm that had the walkie talkie and face palmed, muttering incoherent phrases under my breath, _"I thought you were gonna die, you know, so I'd thought I'd watch over my friend!"_ I raised the walkie talkie to my mouth.

"It's fine, I guess. The dresser only barely stopped the monsters from breaking the door down, so I would have been scared to death if I didn't know that they couldn't climb over it." Tetsuya chuckled and sighed, audibly rustling through something.

" _Some of the stuff Delta finds is pretty weird, you know. He got me black candles for some reason."_ I chuckled and pushed myself off of the wall, clicking the lock to the window before I slid the glass open, revealing the cool air of the night.

"You're freaking out over candles? Everyone was surprised when found a silenced _pistol_ of all things. Not to mention that it was a military grade M9." Tetsuya snapped his fingers in response and I heard some further rustling, followed by a sigh.

" _He found an airsoft helmet today. With the spray paint we found ages ago, he painted it black because it was green. Said it was good to have some head protection when going out."_ I leaned on the window sill with my arms crossed and my eyes shut, basking in the sensation of the cool air gently caressing my bloodied face.

"He does have a point, you know." Tetsuya sighed and did something on the other end of the line, probably figuring out what to say next.

" _Want me to prepare the gate?"_ I pushed myself off of the window sill and opened my eyes, scratching my head.

"Please do. We'll be there in…about five minutes. I lost my backpack and need to retrieve it." I cut the line and flicked my walkie talkie off, stretching my arms out in front of me. I walked over to the bed, threw the covers off of the girl and sighed.

She was curled up in a ball with her head tucked into her chest, "Hey, it's time to wake up. We're leaving." The girl groaned, looked up at me with owlish eyes and tucked her head back into her chest, "If you want to stay here, that's fine by me. As far as I know, I definitely want a hot shower."

"Hot shower!?" The girl was up on her feet in an instant, a grin on her face, "You do not know how long it has been since I have actually cleaned myself!" I smiled in response and returned to the window, climbing out of it as there was no safety wire. I stood up and turned around, bending down to look into the room.

"We're going to have to leave through the window, unfortunately. Fortunately, there's a little outcrop of roof." The girl nodded and I took a step back and to the side, standing on the edge of the outcrop. The girl climbed out of the window head first and stretched her arms upon her exit, grunting as she did so.

I turned around and sat down on the edge, taking a deep breath. It wasn't a tall drop, only two meters, but I could still hurt myself if I didn't land correctly. I released my breath and pushed myself off of the edge, feeling the wind temporarily rush past my ears before I landed on my feet in a crouch, my hands having hit the pavement.

I winced as I felt the skin on my palms tear a little upon my landing, feeling blood start to pour from my wound. I stood up, brushed the dust off of my hands on the back of my pants regardless of the fact that they were bleeding and looked up at the girl, "Do exactly what I did, if you can. If not, you'll have to lower yourself down."

The girl nodded and sat down on the edge of the roof, pivoting herself as she lowered herself down. She was hanging thirty centimetres from the ground and dropped onto her feet with grace, every hair still in place.

I whistled and walked over to the knocked down gate I had seen, slowly stepping over it before I peered into the street. It was still empty, which was a good sign. I motioned the girl to follow me as I sneaked out into the street with my body bent low, keeping my eyes and ears aware.

Instead of approaching the gate, though, I turned down a street and stopped beside the corner of a stone wall, waiting for the girl. She leaned onto the wall next to me and I nodded at her, peering around the wall and into the alley that I had lost my backpack in.

I grimaced.

A group of the monsters were milling around in the alley and my backpack was in the midst of their group, "Stay here." I had whispered to the girl, slipping around the corner with my knife raised in the air. I stayed low and did not make a sound, breathing shallowly and slowly to mask my breathing.

I slipped past one of them as it had its back turned to me and stopped behind the second, biting my lip. It was facing away from me, so I should be able to slip past it, but there were two of the damn things facing the one I was standing behind.

I grit my teeth and sneaked past the one in front of me, hoping to whatever god that was out there that I wasn't seen. Thankfully, I seemed to have been ignored and was on the home stretch to reaching my backpack. I grabbed it, threw it onto my shoulders and winced as it had made several clunking sounds.

I turned to face the way I came from, which was to my right.

The two monsters were lurching towards me, their arms reaching out to grab me as the few that were to my left had just turned around. I had some room to work with, I guess. I rushed up to the first monster and ducked under a predictable lunge, charging at the second one. At the last second, though, I jumped to the side and ran past it as it too had lunged at me, bursting out into the street and past the girl, "Follow me. Our cover's been blown!"

I pulled out my walkie talkie and flicked it on, my knife still raised, "Tetsuya, you better open that fucking gate before we're eaten alive!" I nearly slipped as I turned the corner moments prior to my vulgar language and felt something in my left ankle twist and contort, sending a spike of pain through that particular leg every time my foot made contact with the road. I cursed again as I received no response sooner than I wanted, and as I was right up against the gate, waiting for it to open, I heard some noise on Tetsuya's side of the radio.

I still didn't get a reply.

" _Sorry, Issei! I can't get the gate open. You know I'm too weak to do it myself, and even then, no one wants to wake up and help because it's midnight. You'll have to find another way in."_ I grit my teeth and sighed out of anger, shoving the walkie talkie back into its satchel. I glanced over my shoulder and noticed the approaching monsters that I had startled in the alley, as well as a few that were stumbling out of houses and through windows of said houses. I cursed again.

"We're gonna have to go through the 'secret back' entrance. Follow me, stick close and don't stop running. If you trip, I probably won't be able to come back for you." The girl nodded and followed me as I turned to my right to begin the long sprint around the entire length of the wall that protected the school.

The wide gate was in the centre of the school ground and the property itself was quite large, with several sporting facilities, a track field, many buildings that have not been touched by the remaining students and teachers, with little patches of forest sprinkled here and there, all around the school. In short, it was stupidly large.

I focused on my breathing and glanced to my side and behind every so often, seeing the girl struggle to keep up. I'd rather sleep sooner rather than later, and it's always good to have some time to get through the secret entrance as it can be quite difficult at times, so I maintained my pace and hoped to whatever god was out there that the girl could keep up. My conscious couldn't handle the death of someone else because I had been focused on keeping myself alive.

The first corner came into sight.

I grinned and lowered my knife, slowing down ever so slightly to turn the corner without injuring my ankle further. I practically jumped around the corner with many hopes and dreams that were instantly crushed when the long stretch of road entered my line of sight.

A horde. A giant horde.

It was blocking the street and created an obstacle between us and the secret entrance as the monsters were tightly packed together in the street. They were groaning loudly as they patiently waited for their fresh meat to jump into their jaws, stumbling into each other with the occasional few falling to the ground without making a sound. I shivered as a few of them turned their heads on the base of their neck to stare straight into my soul, a loud groan escaping each and every one of their filthy mouths.

I grabbed the girl by the wrist and began to run down the street once again, a frown on my face, "We're gonna have to loop around the school and to the back. We can jump over the stone parts of the fence there. For some reason, those are the only parts that have stone." I ignored any response the girl had in favour of navigating the streets, watching as the horde rounded the corner to pursue us.

I took a sharp right down a smaller street and continued my running, watching as the monsters filed down the small alley shortcuts that were occasionally built in between rows of houses. Our situation was dire and our future did not look promising, but we had a chance of survival, despite my negativity.

We continued to run down the street, both of our breaths heavy and laboured as our lungs struggled to keep up with our intense pace. The end of the street was in sight, and that meant a potential road to freedom.

However, around that corner may be the rest of the horde and that would entail certain doom as there were only three houses between the main street and a small alley that the monsters were already filing down. We reached the end of the street and were forced to halt the efforts of our escape as the rest of the horde did indeed round the corner.

We were trapped on both sides.

To our left was a house that had smashed windows, a broken down door and a corpse out the front of it.

To our right was a walled off house that may be in any kind of condition as the walls did not allow us to see over them.

Both were multi-storey homes.

I grit my teeth and glanced at the both of them, the horde closing in.

I glanced at the girl behind me and then at the knife I held in my hand, blood coating the blade from earlier on in the day, "We're climbing the wall." I jogged over to it, shrugged my backpack off of my shoulders and threw it over the wall, hearing the loud clunk of cans smashing against cans echo throughout the tightly packed streets.

I pushed my back up against the wall and held my hands at my waist, my knife in my pocket, as I stared into the girl's eyes, "Listen, princess. If you want to live, you're going to have to climb over with my help regardless of the fact that you don't want me to see your panties." The girl's face flushed red as she looked away into the horde, both leisurely walking towards me.

She lifted a foot into my hands and I took a shallow breath, pushing her up onto the top of the wall, her skirt fluttering in the wind right above my face. I blushed and felt the black lace of her underwear sear itself into my mind, remnants of my perverted mindset temporarily taking over.

I shook my head as fast as I could and turned around once I had made sure the girl had made it onto the top of the wall, grabbing the top of the wall and pulling myself up and over it with the help of said girl. Her face was a bright red and she avoided looking into my eyes, but I ignored her reaction in favour of jumping into the small yard that was behind the wall.

I slung my backpack onto my shoulders, heard the rattling of a gate moments after, a sigh of relief escaping me. I had time to work with the scenario we were in, even if that time was a minute or less. Time was everything and everything was time in this apocalypse as we all needed time to live, survive and eventually die.

I glanced at the girl from over my shoulder as I hopped up onto a small wooden porch, "You saw, didn't you?" Her voice was quiet and small, but I managed to hear her over the deafening sounds of an entire horde of undead.

I pulled on the glass door in front of me and clicked my tongue when it didn't budge, "I did. Sorry, I guess? It was our only way out of that situation." I held my forearm up to my chin as I braced the side of my body when I took a step back, a grin forming on my face. I charged into the glass of the door and felt it crack under my weight, the entire frame of the door shaking.

"It's okay…no one's seen my panties before, so I was really embarrassed to do that…" I sighed and took a few steps back, bracing my body once more. I glanced over at the girl as she stood a healthy distance away from my suicidal actions before I charged the door once more, grunting upon the impact.

The door was very close to shattering, "This conversation is awkward, so I'd prefer it if we didn't talk about it anymore. What has been seen cannot be reversed, even if I did enjoy it just a little." I could tell that the girl's face was red once more without even looking at her, a small smile on my face. Conversations like these were the things that made me a little happier.

The glass finally shattered under my weight of the third attempt and rained down onto the tiled floor, shining in the moonlight. I felt a large chunk stick itself into my shoulder and smaller chunks in my forearm, but I held back a shout of pain as I had to focus on making sure the house was clear. I swept the room with my unfaltering gaze and noticed that there were no open doors or windows.

I held back a sigh as I realised that there was a window I could have smashed and climbed through with my hoodie protecting my hands from the glass, "It's clear. We're gonna have to secure a room again and camp out in there. Sorry about this." The girl stepped into the room and winced when she saw the glass sticking out of my shoulder and forearm.

"It's okay. This isn't something you can control…anyway, are you alright? That glass looks like it hurts a lot." I glanced down at the glass and grinned.

"This? It's nothing." I climbed up the nearby stairs and heard the gate collapse under the weight of the undead, a frown on my face. The front door was definitely next and…I forgot to grab my backpack, "Find a room. I need to get my backpack." I was already halfway up the stairs and had just noticed the lack of the weight on my shoulders.

I jumped down the stairs two at a time, shoved past the girl on my way down, turned into the room that had glass all over the tiled floor and jumped into the yard, sprinting for my backpack. The undead were closing in, something I did not appreciate, as I swept my backpack into my arms.

I jumped onto the porch, raised a foot to jump over some of the broken glass and into the building but felt the entire body weight of an undead tackle me to the ground in the middle of the glass. I felt the glass cut and stick itself into my cheek as I fell to my side, followed by the hot, dirty breath of an infected human on my neck, and grunted as I raised a hand to hold back its head.

I struggled to keep it away from biting me and securing my doom with one hand as I reached into my pocket to grab my knife. I fumbled around for it and could not find it, my teeth grinding against each other as the infected slowly overpowered me, "Hey, princess, come help me, please!" I did not hear her footsteps on the wooden steps or the floor above me and cursed as the sound of feet crunching against glass reached my ears.

With some effort, I rolled onto the infected and head-butt its nose with the back of my head, hearing it groan once more. I used both of my arms to grab its arms that were wrapped around my torso and slowly unfurled them, grunting and breathing as I did so.

Its arms smacked the floor and cracked as I used all of my strength to free myself, contorting in unusual ways. I jumped to my feet, ducked under the tackle of another undead and made my way down the corridor, my leg throbbing with a burning pain as some glass had stuck itself into the limb when I had been tackled to the floor.

Something grabbed my ankle and yanked my feet out from under me, which made my entire body smack the tiles.

Everything was blurry and hazy. My hearing was muffled and my thoughts were scrambled and incoherent. I knew one thing, though, and that was the fact that I was going to be eaten alive in a second.

My world returned to me in an instant and I yanked my leg back before I thrust it into the head of the crawling undead that was more than prepared to take eat my leg. It groaned and snapped its head back, my leg now free as its arms flopped to the side. I crawled backwards toward my backpack that had been sent flying down the hall and grabbed it, watching the throng of undead that had been smart enough to circle the house pour through the broken door.

The front door, which was located behind me, had begun splintering.

I grit my teeth and grabbed my backpack with one hand, forcing my body to stand on its feet with the other. Blood ran from my cheek and forehead and blurred my vision, forcing me to wipe the thin liquid out of my eyes with a singular arm that was probably carrying the blood of the infected.

I limped over to the stairs as the leg pain had amplified itself after my second fall and began the ascent up the stairs, every step feeling like hell as my bleeding drained all of my energy and strength from my body as every second passed.

I grunted and forced my body to move up the stairs, feeling the breath of the infected on my neck as I struggled to survive. I grit my teeth and furrowed my brow, using the wall as a support while I cradled my backpack in my hands.

It didn't seem as if I was going to make it, unfortunately.

"This has been fun, princess..." I muttered under my breath as I reached the top step, feeling the fingertips of an outstretched arm brush against the fabric of my pants. I glanced at the infected from over my shoulder and spat down at them, my face scrunched up in pain.

Upon reaching the top step, I collapsed to the floor and saw my backpack fly to the ground in front of me.

A hand grabbed my calf, followed by a second which had grabbed my thigh. A third one grabbed my shoe and pulled it off with ease, the cool air of the house bringing some comfort to my sweaty feet that were covered by damp, white socks.

I sighed as I felt the undead slowly pull my body towards them, my doom becoming more apparent, "You're not dying just yet, Issei! You're mine to kill!" All of the hands that had been attached to my body had disappeared in an instant. I felt a smile slip onto my face as my vision blurred once more, two smooth hands grabbing me by the armpits, dragging me across the floor.

A door was slammed shut behind me as I was dropped to the ground, a wooden nightstand taking its place in front of the door. I was thrown onto a bed and forced a grin onto my face as I realised I was going to live another day, "Hey…what's your name…?"

The atmosphere felt heavy.

"My name's not going to matter when you're dead."

Something thin and cold pierced my chest.

I screamed in pain and heard the glass of a window smash.

"I've had fun today, Issei Hyoudou. I hope you have, as well. Our 'date' would have been for naught if you didn't. For your efforts, though, I may as well answer your question. My name is Yuuma Amano, but because we've become so close to each other, you can call me Raynare."

The object was yanked from my chest and the warmth of my own blood staining my clothes brought a fear to my heart. Was this the end of the line for me? Should I have just given up downstairs and be eaten alive? Should I have sacrificed the girl hours ago when I had the chance?

I fumbled for my walkie talkie and pulled it to my mouth, "This is…Issei Hyoudou…requesting assistance…" The cool plastic of the radio felt nice against my face as my arm lost its strength, "Fatal…injury…sustained…" I let go of the button that would allow me to talk and stared up at the roof, my vision blurring even more than it already had.

" _Issei, you there? What's wrong? What happened? Issei, do you hear me, buddy?"_ I felt my arm slip off of my face. The walkie talkie fell off of the bed and smashed, forcing the room to fall silent. I tried my hardest to raise an arm and clench my fist in defiance, but my body would not move.

I felt cold and weak and lonely.

This is what it feels like to die, then.

A black feather blocked my sight.

It was the only thing I would be able to identify before my sight became a permanent sea of darkness as I lived in a world that was touched by death.

* * *

 **Oooh, is this what they call a cliff hanger? I'm so mean, aren't I? Issei pulled the short straw, though, so he only has himself to blame, yeah? Anyway, this chapter probably sucks as some phrases don't read smoothly. I've been really sick recently and it gets to my head as I'm rarely ill, so at least I have an excuse!**

 **Thanks to RedSS for designing Kamito 'Delta' Yuki! He took a load off of my hands as I didn't need to design a character all by myself. He's so nice, isn't he? Thanks for that, buddy! I hope I've done him justice so far!**

 **Did you like/dislike this chapter? Leave a review or a PM that will tell me why! Did you like/dislike the reveal of Yuuma and the cliff hanger? Leave a review or a PM that will tell me why!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

I could feel it.

I could feel the hole in my heart closing as my vision further darkened, the undead continuing their relentless crusade against the door. Their groans and shouts were haunting me and they sent shivers down my spine every time I heard them.

Their merciless biting and grabbing had an unimaginable strength to them and that made it hard to survive a direct encounter. Their filthy nails dug into your skin as they bit down on your flesh, forcing you to scream out in pain and in horror as you realise that there was no point in fighting anymore. You would realise that you would become one of them in time because of the bite and it forced your mind to surrender to the undead monster, letting it chew on your flesh and bone as you screamed in your final moments.

I wasn't like that, though.

Whenever I feel their dirty hands touch my human body, I kick and punch and bite my way out of their filthy grasp until they're dead and under my feet. This strengthened me and allowed me to fight off more of them as I wanted these inhumane beings to suffer and die as they are not beings that have been created by the earth.

No, they were foreign enemies that had no place on the rocky planet and that meant they deserved to wallow and die. Every single one of them. No matter the circumstances or who they are, or if someone's researching a cure, they all deserve to die because there is no way they will ever return to normal.

They're never going to be human again.

My chest burned up as the hole in my heart had fully healed. The blood stopped running and my vision stopped its march into the darkness, allowing me to see and recognise my surroundings. The cuts on my arm and cheek were left untouched, though, as the thing that was healing me had vanished.

I hadn't seen what it had looked like, much to my disappointment, and that forced my mind to feel weary. There was no white light to indicate some kind of merciful angel, no darkness to signify some kind of malicious demon and no peace of mind to represent a being of death. There was nothing to show me what supernatural being had healed my fatal wound before it vanished. It could have been anything, including one of those undead monsters.

Maybe I was bitten and have turned into one of them, hence the lack of pain I was feeling?

My vision was becoming less hazy as I struggled to move. The more I moved, the less hazy it was, and the more progress I made, the more determined I felt. What was that determination for? I did not have an inkling of an idea as I was not sure what I was going to do in this situation. I was slowly bleeding out, felt extremely weak and had no weapons.

Not to mention the house I was in was surrounded by a horde of the undead monsters, offering me no escape. I had nowhere to go and nothing to do, and that was going to get me killed. The undead would continue their assault on the door and they will eventually break it down, climb over the small wooden nightstand that was offering very little resistance and pile into the room, overwhelming any of my efforts to escape or fight.

I grit my teeth and used my arms to sit up, my pain returning to me. My chest was burning hotter than it could ever handle and it felt as if multiple thin needles were stabbing my heart all at once, forcing me to hunch over and gasp from the pain. That wasn't the worst part, though. The glass that had stuck itself into my arm and shoulder had forced themselves deeper into the flesh, cutting the insides of my limb. I hissed and continued to hunch over, holding back a scream.

I shuddered, feeling the sweat drip from my forehead as I realised I was powerless in this situation. I knew for a fact that I had some antiseptic cream and some bandages in my bag, but they were not going to be enough for all of the cuts I had on my arm and face. That's not considering the fact that blood was pouring from my head like a waterfall.

I steeled myself as I raised a hand to my shoulder, gripping the glass in my hand as I fumbled around for some clean cloth to bite down on. I found something on the bed, found out that it was a pristine white shirt with a print of an anime character on the front, stuffed it into my mouth and yanked the glass out of my shoulder as quickly as I could.

If it wasn't for the shirt that was slowly suffocating me, I would have alerted every single one of the undead monsters in the neighbourhood. I felt tears stream down my face as the pain was too much for my currently fragile mind to handle. I slowly shook my head, bit down on the shirt as hard as I could and gripped a smaller piece that was in my cheek.

I too, pulled that out as fast as I could and bit down on the shirt harder than I thought was possible, feeling my teeth touch each other through the fabric. I was breathing heavily through my nose and reached for another piece, yanking it out and throwing it to the ground. I continued this process until my arm and cheek were clear of the glass, feeling the blood soak my cheek, hoodie and arm as the glass had been sharp enough to puncture the thick fabric, and had pat my body down, looking for any bites or scratches that the undead would have graciously gifted me with.

I found none and had sighed in relief, pulling the shirt out of my mouth. I fumbled for my backpack, found that it was lying next to the bed I was on and reached down to grab it, pulling it up onto the bed. I slowly unzipped a section of it as all of my strength had left my body because of my self-inflicted pain and dug out a small bottle, placing it down beside me. I pulled the bandages out in a similar fashion and got to work.

I uncapped the bottle and squeezed some cream onto a finger, dropping the bottle onto my lap as I crossed my legs. I slowly rose an arm to my face, grit my teeth in preparation for the burning sensation I would soon feel, and rubbed the cream all up my cheek.

I winced, swore and bit down on my lip as I rubbed it all over the wounds, feeling the intense burn the antiseptic cream was creating as it did its job rather well. I hastily finished my side of the work on my cheek, squeezed a healthy amount onto my palm and rubbed it all up my arm, swearing like a sailor all the way. I wiped my hand on the bloody bed as I had finished and grabbed the roll of bandages.

I sighed and wrapped the material around my arm, the white fabric slowly turning red as the crimson blood of my body stained it without any hesitation. I pulled the bandage tight around my wrist and fumbled around for some scissors that should be in my backpack, grinning as I found them. I cut the bandage, admired my handiwork for the entirety of two seconds and felt my cheek.

There was nothing I could do to stop the bleeding there as I had no Band-Aids to cover the wounds. With a little bit of regret filling my healed heart whose pain had subsided, I left my cheek and let the cuts slowly bleed and heal themselves, using a hand to scan my head for the wound that was still bleeding.

I felt a small lump and some warm liquid that was steadily running from said lump, sighing as I found the wound. It was on my forehead, an area where it should be easy to bandage, but it would prove to be quite difficult as it hurt to move my bandaged arm up and behind me.

I winced as I attempted to move said arm and frowned, contemplating the things that I could and should do to stop the bleeding. I honestly had no idea what to do, though, as I didn't really have any medical experience. I only knew how to bandage a wound and use the right medicine for the right sickness, as well as a vague idea on what would happen during CPR. That's it, and that's all I would likely need. If I broke a leg or rolled an ankle, I was more than screwed and would die so the knowledge to create a splint was almost useless.

I sighed and used my uninjured arm to pivot my body so I was sitting on the edge of the bed. Only then did I realise the danger I was in as I had been ignoring the undead for the majority of my time in this rather small and empty room.

The wooden door had a large chunk of it that was missing and the undead were able to stick their heads through it and snap their jaws at me. I grit my teeth as I realised the urgency of the situation. I knew the undead would be able to knock the nightstand over easily as it was nothing compared to a door, and even then the door was almost destroyed enough for the undead to climb through it.

I pushed myself to my feet and stumbled to the side, my legs weak and heavy. I attempted to step forward towards the window, my backpack completely forgotten as I was focused on surviving. I tripped over something and fell to the floor, sweat dripping from my body.

I reached an arm out to grab a wooden chest that was at the end of the bed, intending to use it as a support. I grabbed the edge of the chest and slowly pulled myself into a kneeling position, glancing at the open window that was a little to the left of the chest.

I stretched my arm out and grabbed the windowsill, pulling myself through the open space with as much strength I could muster as I was struggling to fall through the damn thing. I landed on an outcrop of roof and lay on my stomach, staring at the school grounds that were ahead of me. I noticed the horde that was struggling to enter the house as it was currently full of the undead and grimaced. I needed to sit on the highest part of the roof as I really had no escape.

I slowly pushed myself onto a knee and held a breath, pushing myself to my feet. I stumbled around for a few steps and used the wall as a support, reaching for the roof above me. I couldn't grab it just by stretching my arm out, so I would need to jump and pull myself up onto it.

I took a single breath once more and jumped, grabbing the edge of the roof above me with both hands. I heard something below me smash, followed by the crunching of the glass under the feet of the undead. I grit my teeth and struggled to pull myself up onto the roof, hearing the first body of an undead collapse on the rooftop moments after my attempt to save myself.

I grunted and used all of my strength, finding that I could actually lift myself onto the roof if I actually tried. I wasn't going to let myself down just yet, so I put one foot on the roof to support my weight as soon as I could and lifted the other onto it without any issues, feeling the nails of an undead scratch the bottom of my shoe.

I winced and collapsed onto my back, staring up at the starry night sky, the distant danger gone from my mind.

The night sky was a beautiful sight to behold.

Especially now that I've escaped certain death with the assistance of some supernatural force.

It made me realise that my new life as an expert scavenger was truly wonderful.

* * *

The early rays of a distant star had woken me up.

The streets were empty and quiet, despite the events of the previous night, and I couldn't help but notice a fresh puddle of blood that stained the road in front of Kuoh's main gate. I realised that some poor survivor had been seeking some shelter and had been most unfortunate to find themselves in the middle of a horde.

There was nothing I could do now, though. Their body had been reanimated to join the forces of an unbeatable undead army and the only thing I could do was end their miserable life, even though I don't know what they had looked like. That meant I would never know if I've truly saved that unfortunate soul.

By the time I had finished my monologue, I was already in a sitting position with crossed legs. I was comfortable, a little dirty and in pain, but I was glad to be alive. I was also glad to have been fortunate enough to even survive the previous night as it seemed like an elaborate set-up in hindsight.

I picked at a loose tile and contemplated my possible course of action.

I could go and grab my backpack, first and foremost, followed by my arrival at my stronghold. I didn't know how to get into the stronghold, though, as I had no radio to contact Tetsuya and no way to attract anyone's attention, and the 'back' entrance required two people as the wall was very tall.

I sighed and stopped fiddling with the tile, rubbing my left arm instead as I realised that my arm was seriously injured. I clicked my tongue as I also realised that it was a disadvantage. I wouldn't be able to climb anything because of the state it's in, so I'd need to go through the front gate, regardless of the other entrances.

I pushed myself over to the edge of the roof and dangled my legs off of it, peering over the edge. I had forgotten that there was the small outcrop of roof and had prepared to jump down onto it until I considered the injury my ankle had sustained yesterday. It wasn't serious and my ankle wasn't hurting anymore, but it would be better to avoid any unnecessary risks.

I slowly lowered myself down instead of jumping.

I stretched my body out and grunted in pleasure as I felt every individual muscle that had relaxed itself during my ignorant sleep tighten. I raised my arms above my head and let my body do its thing, squinting as the sun became brighter from its continuous rising.

I sighed out of pure satisfaction and turned to face the window behind me, immediately noting how it had shattered. It wasn't surprising, though, as an entire horde of the undead had tried to squeeze through the thing. Realizing that that had happened, I quickly peered over the edge of the outcrop and grimaced as the heads of a few infected were now some kind of red mush.

I shook my head and approached the window frame, appreciating the one side of the frame that didn't have pointy shards of glass sticking out of it. I climbed into the room feet first and noticed how it was clear of the undead. I scratched the back of my head in confusion and walked over to my backpack, zipping up the pocket that I pulled the bandages from after I stuffed my medical supplies back into it. I slung the bag over my shoulders, shifting it into a comfortable position with a heavy sigh.

I nod to myself as I was satisfied with the weight of my backpack on my shoulders and stepped over the knocked over nightstand, gripping the straps of my backpack with both hands. I wasn't mentally or physically prepared to find myself in a fight to the death, so I tread lightly to avoid making any unnecessary sound. I forced my breathing to become shallow and very quiet as well as I had once been told that I my intake of air was a loud process.

I supressed the urge to talk to myself under my breath as I recalled the unpleasant memory, recalling how it was a verbal punch to the face and an unneeded comment. That person had also told me that my life was annoying, so I hope they're one of the undead I've killed or am going to kill or are suffering somewhere.

I never really liked that person, but I also realised that I didn't like how the undead always bash doors down when they're chasing me. I understand they want to eat me, but do they have to be so violent, loud and stupid? Can't they retain at least a little bit of their humanity and remember how door handles work?

I mentally laughed at my own idiocy as I had realised a long time ago that the undead will never be a human again. No cure can fix the physical or mental damage that has been done to a human during the infection process. Their body dies, after all, and the decay that follows will render the body incapable of supporting human life if the disease is somehow eradicated.

How does the infection work, anyway? Is it saliva based and only transferred if a human is bitten? Does this mean a human could technically suck the saliva out of a bite wound before it gets into the blood stream and save themselves a painful death?

What if it's airborne and everyone already has it? What if a human turns into an undead when they die because it's already taken control of their body? Would that mean being bitten somehow kills us because the disease wants us to turn into an undead monster as fast we can?

Is it even a disease?

I found myself in front of Kuoh's gate as I pondered over the technical aspects of the monster creating disease. It interested me beyond my understanding and I had a morbid curiosity as to what it felt like to be infected by a bite. Did it hurt? What happened to my body and mind? There were a few questions that I wanted answers to, but I didn't want to die to satisfy a childish interest that would last me the entirety of five seconds before I realised I was going to die.

I glanced up at the rising sun and stared at Kuoh's gate with narrowed eyes. Despite the fact that I was standing in front of the entrance of my new home with some insane thoughts, I couldn't help but feel that there was danger. There was something in the air that made my return feel wrong and negative, and I wasn't able to figure out why I felt this way.

I focused on a rapidly approaching figure and smiled, though, all of those thoughts instantly banished from my mind.

Now that I think about it, nothing has ever felt right in this undead wonderland that was touched by death, so I shouldn't focus on a feeling that I would constantly acquire in the future.

* * *

 **Is this considered to be a 'late' upload? I have a mildly acceptable reason. Wanna know why? I had two thousand words worth of this chapter already written and scrapped them as I didn't like how they turned out. I have the original if anyone is interested, but those words will not affect the story. That's probably affected the quality of this chapter, as well.**

 **Anyway, I've finished my schooling year and have an eight week break ahead of me, so I may upload more frequently. I probably won't, though, so don't expect too much from me.**

 **Did you like/dislike this chapter? Leave a review or send me a PM that tells me why! Did you like/dislike the unknown identity of the supernatural entity that healed Issei? Leave me a review or a PM that tells me why!**


	4. Chapter 4

His hair was short, spiky and brown and his eyes were a light blue. His skin was a pale white and his frame was slender, despite the strength he has displayed numerous times while out in the field. I eyed the knife and pistol that were at his belt and noticed his missing helmet, "It's nice to see you, Kamito."

Kamito nod at me as he gripped the bars of the tall gate that protected the citizens of my stronghold, grunting as he pulled it open. I rose an eyebrow and slipped through a small gap that had been created between the wall and the gate, humming in satisfaction as I heard the metal clunk against the wall seconds after.

"Thanks for the save, Kamito. I gotta go do my post-scavenging duties, so I'll see you around." He didn't say anything in response and I couldn't see if he had done anything as I was facing the main school building, not his person, but I could imagine that he would give a curt nod. I glanced at him from over my shoulder and grinned as he shot me a thumbs up, "Make sure the gate is secure, as well. We don't want any unwanted guests to break in any time soon, you know."

Having told Kamito to secure the gate, I approached the wide building with my hands shoved into the deepest recesses of my pockets, frowning as I remembered that I had lost my trusty pocket knife last night in a scuffle I had with the undead. I wasn't sure when I had lost it, though, as I'm not even sure if there was a moment where I had the chance to lose it, but I had a suspicion that I lost it during the wall climbing incident with Raynare. Maybe she took it from me when she landed on me and that was what she stabbed me with.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, pulling out a few strands that had been coated with blood, and walked through an open door that led to an area that was specifically designed for storing shores in lockers. I stopped in front of my small locker and glanced down at my shoes, grimacing as I had unknowingly soaked the bottom of them while I was escaping the house I was in moments ago. I was prepared to kick my shoes off, as well, but I resisted the temptation as my socks and feet probably smelt terrible.

My nose crinkled up in distaste.

I wanted to shower more than anything, but I had several things to do before I was allowed to indulge in the luxuries of having a clean body. The aforementioned duties involve the taking of our food stock in addition to the food I had gathered, as well as checking in with Sona Shitori, the old student council president who rides the highest horse, to make sure she understands that I'm not dead yet. Maybe I should check in with Tetsuya while I'm at it as he's probably worrying about my radio silence that was followed by my eerie message.

I sighed as the burdens of my role outweighed my need for some clean clothes and a warm shower. I would happily collapse in a bath and the school has one, but I only have one issue. The bath is large and is in the female changing rooms near the track field and the girls store all of their clothes and personal items over there. With my previous titles that revolved around perversion, it's obvious that they wouldn't let me anywhere near the place. They should at least trust me now that I've nearly died several times for their current state of life, though, but they're continuing to be savages about the whole thing. I've clearly changed in these past two weeks!

I ascended the staircase without much of an issue, passing a few of the female students who had gagged when they had received my bloody scent with a sigh. They weren't hurt, or bleeding, or mentally fucked up and I could appreciate that. It went to show that my efforts weren't for naught as I had tried my hardest to keep as many people happy. If people were happy, so was I and that meant I could work effectively while out in the city, even if I do see some fucked up things every now and then.

Although, sooner or later, I'm going to become completely desensitized to the death and destruction that litters the street. In fact, I believe that entire process has been completed. The sites of maimed and mutilated corpses doesn't faze me anymore. The sight of fellow humans being torn apart has no effect, either, as I've seen plenty of that to haunt my dreams for the rest of my life. At least I have some things to take my anger and frustration out on, so I'm never going to angry or frustrated again.

Peace and serenity is the key to stealth, after all.

I ascended to the third floor without any more troubles and hung a right, heading towards the student council office. I stopped in front of the small door, cleared my throat, and almost kicked the door down as I had predicted the meeting, "Alright, Sona, I'm back from my duties." The black haired midget looked up from a book she was reading and glanced down at what I assumed was the page number, snapping the book shut with one hand shortly after.

"Good. Now, I hope you remember that I expect all scavengers to arrive back at the gate by sunset. You have failed to demonstrate your ability to fulfil that request, so I might have to revoke your permissions as a scavenger." I stalked over to Sona's desk, slammed a fist down onto it and sent death in her direction with my eyes.

"You need to get off of your high horse, Sona. Maybe you should pull that stick out of your ass at the same time." Sona rose a single eyebrow as she maintained her composure, ignoring my anger and death stares as if they were a simple ant.

"Have you completed your stock taking duties?" I grit my teeth and felt my anger spike, even if it was a little unjustified. Well, it wasn't 'unjustified'. In fact, it was more than justified.

"You're a real bitch, you know? It's unrealistic to set a return time for me and the other scavengers. Shit happens, we may die, we have to hole up in a house and we have no way to get through the gate. Yesterday…yesterday, I was busting my ass off to save a girl and then there's a horde surrounding the school! If you had left this fucking room for once in your life you'd know that! But no, you never have and you never will because you believe you're the ruler of _my_ establishment that _I_ created with my own hands…you know what, fuck you and the rest of your arrogant lackeys. I'm outta here." I stormed off towards the door and paused my movements as Sona cleared her throat. I glanced at her from over my shoulder and waited for her response, noticing her icy cold stare. I shrugged it off as it was nothing and released a breath as slow as I could so my anger could melt away.

"You don't understand my motives, Hyoudou, and you never will. I do all of these things because you're incapable of running 'your' establishment with your constant absence. Alas, in your own words, 'shit happens'. Also, Rias Gremory wants to see you. Now leave before I kick you out of the school." I grit my teeth and felt my jaw tighten as my frustration and anger doubled. I'm fed up with Sona's shit.

For the past two weeks…the _past two weeks_ …she has said the exact same thing. I'd never understand her motives? Bullshit. She only wants a seat of power that _I_ deserve because she's a puny midget that has no survivability in the apocalyptic wasteland. Not to mention the fact that she has, for the past two weeks, threatened to kick me out of my own stronghold, regardless of my contribution to it.

I slammed the door behind me and punched the wall next to the frame, feeling my fist crack against the hard material. I grit my teeth and felt my fist clench harder from the pain, drops of blood seeping through the gaps between my fingers.

I shoved my hands into my pockets like a moody teenager would, even though I am currently a moody teenager, and head down the corridor to the classroom that had been converted into a communications room. It was also Tetsuya's den, unsurprisingly, and he rarely leaves that room, much like Sona's shut-in tendencies. Unlike Sona, though, Testuya has a reason as he's constantly monitoring radio frequencies in the hopes that the military will send out a message for all survivors. He's also looking out for distress signals from other survivors at the same time, and he's listening in for the messages of my scavengers. In short, he did a lot for me and I appreciated him way more than Sona.

I stopped in front of the classroom and glanced up at the sign that was labelled '3-A'. The single door that was constantly unlocked had a window that was covered by a black curtain that was similar to the drapes that covered the windows in the hallway, blocking anything and everything that Tetsuya does in the room. Testuya mainly plays video games and watches anime while he's listening in on the radio, though, so I had no clue what the curtains were for. They did give the room a sense of privacy that was hard to come by in this school, though.

I knocked on the door and slid it open, dumping my heavy backpack next to the door as I slid it shut. A black ball of sheets and blankets squirmed as I made my way between stacks of desks and chairs, glancing at the several radios that were set up on the few desks that weren't thrown into a massive pile of furniture. A few of the radios looked familiar as I had scavenged them myself, such as the rather large Sony chunk of metal that was loudly emitting a high pitched frequency. I switched that particular radio off with a flick of my index finger and rubbed an ear, walking over to some heavy block-out curtains that were blocking the outside world.

I threw them open with a sigh and squinted as the light from the sun was an unusual contrast to the darkness of the room. The ball of sheets groaned, rolled over a few times on the large mattress they were lying on, and hit their head on the corner of a desk that was right next to them. They winced, reached up to touch their skull and let out a groan of frustration when they realised that the effort was too much for them.

I kicked the ball and watched as a head shot out from under the mess of sheets, glaring at me with a pair of emerald eyes that were half open, "What was that for?" They had muttered, their voice higher and more feminine than their radio communicating counterpart. I let out a hum of enjoyment as I crouched down in front of them, raising a hand.

"You thought I was dead, right?" And then a wave of realisation hit the ball as if the shock was a tsunami. Their eyes were wide and tears started to gather in the corners of their eyes, "Oi, there's no need to be so overdramatic, Tetsuya." Tetsuya sniffled and covered his face with his hands, his spiky black hair that reached his shoulders also covering where his eyes should be.

"I'm just kidding." And Tetsuya was back to his overly sarcastic and apathetic self, disdain contorting his expression. "Knowing you and what has happened in the past two weeks, I wouldn't be surprised if the devil himself commended you for your luck." My grin was wide enough to force my eyes shut.

"It's kinda weird, to be honest. I was never this lucky before the apocalypse." I was hiding the supernatural help I had received because Tetsuya probably wouldn't believe me. Because he enjoyed playing video games, I would have thought that he believes in the paranormal just a little, but I found out very quickly that he didn't. So it was weird for an atheist non-believer to joke about the devil. But he could be referencing an old saying that likens someone with an immense amount of positive luck to the devil. I mentally shook my brain to clear those thoughts from my mind.

"If I ever go out on a scavenging mission, I'd definitely want to stick with you. I mean, you could get bitten by an infected and be lucky enough to be immune!" Tetsuya was now sitting with his hands in his lap, a grin on his face. I mirrored his grin and jumped to my full height, looking down at the unusually small and feminine male.

"I bet I am immune. In fact, I might test my luck now. Wanna come with?" Tetsuya was unimpressed with my joke as he had begun glowering at me. I playfully winked and bound over to a small television that was sitting on a desk in the furthest corner of the left side of the room. I grabbed its remote off the desk, switched it on and browsed through the various channels, "Standard government warning, standard government warning, static, static again, government warning, military warning, typical morning anime for some reason, static, darkness and that's it. Let's watch the anime."

I pulled up a chair and crossed my legs as I stretched my neck out, "Oi, Issei, you stink. Get out." My neck for me to face Tetsuya as he pushed himself to his feet, my eyes sizing him up. His frame was rather small and slender and had an hourglass figure to it. His skin was a nice milky white and his neck was slender, similar to his small but slender nose and his cherry lips. I blanched.

"You're…you're not a girl, are you!?" I was obviously joking and Tetsuya knew that as well, but my friend still threw a shoe at me as he always did.

"Your jokes aren't funny, Issei. You should stop while you still have the chance!" I pretended to feel hurt and sullenly made my way to the door, my shoulders drooping, "Oh, also, when you're done with the shower, bring me some food or something, okay?" I flipped him off as I reached the door, a shit-eating grin brightening up my 'gloomy' expression.

"Oi, you should come with me, then." Tetsuya ignored me and switched the source channel of the television, reaching over for a controller of a video game console. I sighed and exited the room, grabbing my backpack along the way. I slid the door shut, sighed again and made my way towards the nearest staircase, hoping to make it to the showers without any issues.

* * *

 **Writing feels like a chore now. That's why this chapter is so short and crappy. I just can't find the fun in writing anymore, for some reason. I'm probably being lazy and am trying to procrastinate too much, but I can't find the energy to write this story or anything else, to be honest. Hell, I can't even be bothered to go back and edit the whole chapter. It'd take me five minutes, but I simply don't care anymore.**

 **It's probably because I've finished school for the year and don't have any classes to ignore in favour of pursuing my writing.**

 **Anyway, I apologise for the delay on this chapter and how short it is.**

 **I might upload another chapter soon. Otherwise, it may be a new story. I apologise for disappointing everyone.**

 **See you soon.**


	5. Chapter 5

I stepped into the Occult Research Club room with my arms folded against my chest, my lips set into a thin line. Rias Gremory, the red-haired school idol who contributes nothing to the stronghold, glanced up at me from behind a light novel of a particularly famous series. She sighed, snapped the book shut with the singular hand that had been holding it and placed it down on the coffee table in front of her, motioning to the second of the two couches that were in the room, "Please, take a seat, Issei." I nod once, made my way over to the vacant seat and almost collapsed onto it, slouching ever so slightly.

"So, Sona told me you wanted to see me. What's up?" Rias was, despite my efforts to gather as much clothing for everyone as I could, wearing her school uniform. She didn't smell like sweat or other human bodily scents, but a refreshing rosy scent was reaching my noses. It was pleasant to inhale and was a highly welcomed change to the usual scents of death I came across on a daily basis. Having taken a quick shower moments prior to my arrival here, I had found a fresh pair of clothes, as well, that consisted of some camel coloured chinos and a black and white striped t-shirt. They were a little too big for my frame, but they were comfortable, unlike the uniform that Rias was still wearing.

Rias sat up straighter than I thought was possible and crossed a leg over the other, resting her hands in her lap, "I believe you should have died last night, correct?" I rose an eyebrow and nod once to answer Rias' question, a frown forming on her lips straight after.

"I was stabbed in the heart by a girl who said I could call her Raynare. After her disappearance, there was a presence in the room that felt generous enough to heal my fatal wound." Rias sighed and crossed her arms under her rather large bust, emphasising the size of her two watermelon sized mounds as she stared at me in thought. I scratched my cheek as I felt the situation was rather awkward and supressed a sudden urge to yawn, rubbing my eyes instead.

"That's…quite strange. It leaves me with no doubts in my mind as to what I thought I didn't need to tell you, though, when you do indeed need this information." I rose an eyebrow and slid further back into the soft couch as I sat up as straight as I could, my arms laying at my side.

"What could that be, Gremory? You're not going to tell me that the supernatural is real, right?" Rias' eyes momentarily widened before she coughed once to regain her composure. She released a shallow breath and let her eyes shut themselves for a few seconds before she sighed and uncrossed her legs.

"Well, you see…the supernatural is real…" I felt my lips purse from an emotion I could not describe as Rias sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck, a smile on her face as she awkwardly laughed. I sighed and relaxed all of the muscles in my face, slouching down on the couch once more.

"You know, it's not that hard to believe after all of the crap I've been through." Rias grinned in satisfaction and clapped her hands together in excitement. I ran a hand through my hair and sighed once more, "Tell me everything I need to know, Gremory."

"First off, I'm a devil. I'm a member of the Gremory family from the underworld. My family is a part of the 'Seventy-Two Pillars', the seventy-two pure-blood families of the underworld. Unfortunately, not all of the families remain alive today. Not to mention the fact that angels, fallen angels, yokai, vampies, exorcists and every other fictional entity exists, including gods. If you couldn't figure it out yet, the devils, angels and fallen angels are all a part of the Biblical faction. All three races have signed a temporary truce, though, due to the rise of the undead in the human world, so you shouldn't be surprised to see a member of each race working together."

I massaged my forehead and asked Rias to stop as the sudden intake of foreign information was almost too much for me to handle. I could comprehend what Rias had said, though, and that was a supposedly positive thing that my mind was capable of performing. I needed to configure my brain in such a matter that doesn't allow it to almost create a migraine when a few previously unimaginable statements are heard with the ears. I motioned for Rias to continue and leaned forward, intent on absorbing every single piece of information possible.

"Because the Biblical faction exists, that means God and the Four Satan exists as well. Unfortunately, these devils died in the war and were replaced by the strongest and most accomplished devils in the underworld. These devils take the title of their Satan as their last name, such as my brother Sirzechs. He assumed the position as Lucifer and is now referred to as 'Sirzechs Lucifer' instead of 'Sirzechs Gremory'. The leader of the Grigori, which is what the fallen angels like to call their governing system, is Azazel the Scapegoat, a former angel. On the subject of angels, they are few in numbers but are very powerful. For some reason, God isn't creating any new angels, so the Satans have a reason to believe that the original God is dead and has been replaced by the Archangel Michael who does not possess such a power."

I released a heavy sigh and let the information slowly sink into my brain, scanning it once over to make sure I remembered everything correctly. All of this happened within the span of a millisecond as Rias would not stop her rant for a second time.

"Anyway, us devils are ranked by classes in the underworld. It starts at 'low-class' and ends at 'ultimate-class'. I'm a high-class devil because I was born into a pure-blood family who is related to a Satan and have been blessed with several privileges. One of these is the 'Evil Pieces', a magical set of chess pieces that have the power to revive a human as a 'low-class' devil. Now, the revived humans are called a 'Peerage' and have their own powers, based off of the piece they were revived with. The 'Rook' has super strength, the 'Knight' has incredible speed, the 'Bishop' has enhanced magical abilities, the 'Queen' have all of these abilities and the pawn has the power to 'Promote' themselves to whatever piece they want in what would be considered enemy territory."

I listened on with a piqued interest. Having denied the existence of the supernatural many times in the past, learning about this whole new world is exciting and interesting. There are many things I need to know and learn about the supernatural, though, as my introduction to them wasn't very informative as I'm only learning about devils from a devil. I know almost nothing about the angels or the fallen angels, not to mention the yokai and other entities that were briefly mentioned.

"My Peerage consists of a single Knight, Yuuto Kiba, a single Rook, Koneko Toujou, a single Queen, Akeno Himejima and myself as the King…but my Peerage has gone missing and I haven't been able to find them. Anyway, I was fully prepared to resurrect you as a Pawn if that presence did not heal you, as well, as you've proved your worth several times before. I have a hunch that you have a special power inside of you, but that's another topic in its entirety. Any questions?" I swallowed the saliva that had gathered in my mouth and blinked a few times. I raised to my face and ran my hand down it, realising that Rias wouldn't be able to answer anything about the other supernatural entities.

"So magic exists, right?" Rias nod once and stuck two fingers into the air.

"There are two types of magic that a human is capable of learning. Western Magic and Eastern Magic. Western Magic is a system of spells and magical knowledge that was founded in Europe while Eastern Magic is a form of sorcery that was founded in Asia. Human Magic relies on the knowledge to control equations, though, unlike my demonic magic that relies on my imagination and power to create. Don't worry, though. You can still do a lot with magic if you're given enough time as it's quite easy once the theory about it is known."

I nod once in disappointment as magic was harder than I thought it would be. I should have expected that, though, as magic isn't an ability anyone can acquire in an instant. It would require dedication and some intense training and study as it relies on the user's knowledge to control equations, whatever that means. If I know what would happen if I summoned a fire ball, I assume that would be my 'knowledge to control equations', but I can't be too sure until I actually give it a try.

"Magic is…pretty complicated. That means its capabilities are almost infinite, right?" I couldn't help but ask that question, though, as the specific details on these two particular magics were unusually vague. It wouldn't make sense if Rias was hiding information from me, as well, as she had basically told me the entire history of the devils. Maybe Rias can use a special kind of magic because she's a devil, not a human?

Maybe Rias has gone insane and has created this little world to cope with the apocalypse. It wouldn't surprise me if she did. Quite a few of the remaining students and teachers have lost their mind in some way, and I think I would too if I didn't have all of my friends and my scavenging missions to anchor my mind to the earth. The very few people I cherish are alive and are happy, but Rias said her 'peerage' has gone missing, which would be her friends and family in a sense. If I was her, I wouldn't hold onto any hopes I have as these missing people are usually infected or are dead…or worse.

Three short but effective knocks on the only door in the room interrupted my thoughts. It gently swung open and once I saw who the perpetrator was, the only reaction I could muster was a heavy sigh. They had silky black hair that reached the bottom of their shoulder blades, piercing emerald eyes and cherry red lips with a small nose and a shade of skin that was beyond pale, "What does Miss Sakura want now, Chiharu?"

She was Chiharu Kobayashi, my schooling junior by one year. Unsurprisingly, she was the same age as me. Chiharu was a little arrogant at times, rather cynical and generally cold and apathetic towards me. It didn't help that she was Miss Sakura's, a former teacher turned logistics expert, assistant. I saw Miss Sakura a lot, as well, so the relationship between us slowly declined as we were polar opposites of each other.

"Regarding your expedition yesterday, Miss Sakura wants to know the details of the mission." I nod once in an unusually submissive manner and jumped to my feet, stretching my arms out in front of me with a groan. Rias was on her feet in an instant as well, a small smile on her face. I wasn't too sure if Rias was even a devil, and I didn't even have an idea if she had descended into insanity as I had had no interactions with her prior to this meeting, so I'd have to keep an eye on her for a while and try to find her 'peerage'.

"Let's head off, then." Chiharu left the room. I nod at Rias to announce my departure and Rias nod back.

"Stay safe, Issei!"

* * *

The short adventure to a former classroom, 3-C, was quiet and uneventful. After a past argument with Chiharu, we've decided to ignore each other for as long as we have to as a single word would piss the other off. It wasn't pretty, and I don't know why Miss Sakura keeps the girl around when she seemingly complains all day and does nothing productive when I'm in her presence. Those matters didn't regard me, though, as I was usually paying attention to Miss Sakura instead of Chiharu.

I slid the door open and scanned the room out of habit.

A town map on a cluster of desks that had crosses all over it, a few books strewn about the place, a diary on the teacher's podium, plans scribbled on the chalk board with white chalk, a few pieces of paper pinned to walls while other stray pieces lay about the room, and a very small living quarters that contained a sleeping bag and a few books stacked neatly on top of each other.

Miss Sakura wasn't in sight, though, much to my confusion.

I glanced at Chiharu and saw the surprise on her face, sighing as I stepped into the room. Chiharu followed after me and closed the door behind me, leaning on the wall next to the doorframe as I pulled a chair out from under a desk.

I plopped myself down on the simple chair and crossed my arms with a frown, staring out at the city beyond the walls of the school, the gym and several other sporting facilities barely visible in my peripheral vision. My frown deepened as I noticed the empty streets that the undead usually occupied, "You finally noticed it too, huh? It took you a while, especially for the best scavenger we have." I swung my head to face Chiharu so fast my neck should have broken and let my eyes pierce her soul. "What? I said nothing wrong." I clicked my tongue in annoyance and realised that a fight wasn't worth it, even if it was only words that were being thrown around the place.

"This is why I don't like you. You say things that annoy or hurt others and you claim or think you said nothing wrong, which leads to an argument sooner rather than later. Honestly, where did your social skills come from? The most narcissistic person on the planet?" I wasn't helping anyone here, either, but I was being a human in a world that was run by the undead, so I'd follow my mind more than my heart and that wasn't a good idea in this scenario. I was probably looking for a fight, after all. I mean, after being stabbed through the heart by an 'innocent' girl, being revived and nearly dying again, having a fight with a shut-in whose arrogance can reach the stars and then listening to Chiharu's crap, I think I deserved at least a little lenience with what I did and said.

"What I said just then wasn't annoying or 'hurtful'. It was just an observation." Chiharu responded with a smug smile.

People won't allow me to have that tiny bit of relief, though, even if I am the one that keeps them fed and warm at night.

"Don't you start a fight, you two!" I hadn't realised that the door had slid open in the middle of my miniature rant, but I was more than relieved to be in the presence of Miss Sakura's bubbly personality. Talking about the woman, she had black hair that was cut short at the top of her shoulders, large azure eyes, a small nose and lips, as well as a mature body that would have my perverted side dying. She wore a pair of black pants and a white shirt, her usual teaching attire.

"I'm more than happy to know that you're here." Chiharu mumbled from her spot against the door, earning a glare from yours truly. Miss Sakura's eyebrow twitched when she realised that our hostility was never going to disappear, a scarily cheerful smile forming on her face. I paled and faced the front, sitting as straight as I could with my hands in my lap. Chiharu grunted and pushed herself off of the wall soon after and found an unoccupied chair across from me, sitting on the seat with her legs crossed and her arms folded under her rather small bust.

"Yeah, me too." I muttered in response, watching as Miss Sakura stood in front of the podium. I cleared my throat, "Anyway, what's the agenda for today? Seen any new types of zombies? A hole in a wall I need to patch because everyone's so useless? Or is it a body someone needs to dispose?" A devilish grin formed on my face as I glared at Chiharu. She shrunk back into her seat, genuine fear filling her face for one whole second. She recomposed herself, lightly coughed into her hand and tried to hide her blush.

Miss Sakura sighed, "No, that's not it, Issei. I believe Chiharu over here told you what I needed from you. In fact, you do it every time you get back from a scavenging mission, so why are you asking?" I scratched my cheek and chuckled.

"Well, it's nice to start the conversation with some small talk, isn't it? Especially when it comes to you, Miss Sakura." Miss Sakura shot me a glare as I paused for a second, "When you start talking, you won't stop until the person runs away. It doesn't even matter if they're not talking, though; you're the type of person that could talk to a brick wall without any issues." Miss Sakura's eyebrow twitched once.

"That's not true! I told you to stop calling me 'Miss Sakura', anyway! I'm not a teacher anymore, so you can call me Hanako. It's my first name and you should know that!" I sheepishly rubbed the back of my head as Miss Sakura…actually, as _Hanako_ shot an annoyed glance at me from over a map she was staring at.

"I'm trying to be respectful, you know. You are older than me and you are guiding me and my team through these hellish streets. Not to mention the fact that you continuously give us locations to scout out and then scavenge." Hanako grinned and giggled with a blush as I ranted about my 'name calling' and all of the things she does to make my life easier.

"Anyway, Issei, get on with the report, alright? Tetsuya briefly mentioned this morning that you radioed in last night saying that you were fatally wounded. And look at you now! You're completely fine!" I sighed and let my feet tap against the floor in an unconscious effort to release any stress that I would feel from this meeting. I ran a hand through my hair, glanced at Chiharu and Hanako and sighed once more.

"Yesterday, while Matsuda, Motohama and I were navigating the streets near the city, we came across a girl that was surrounded by the undead. Being the idiots that we are, we saved her but got split up in the process." Hanako nodded as Chiharu sighed with a hand to her face.

"Of course you idiots did. You'd do anything to drag a girl into bed with you!" Chiharu had muttered from underneath her own hand. I growled, bared my teeth like a dog, and glared at Chiharu because of her unneeded comment that I found to be offensive. Hanako slammed a hand down onto the podium, her cheeks puffed up in annoyance.

"Stop it, you two. Chiharu, that wasn't needed and you didn't need to respond like that, Issei. You two need to grow up and learn to like each other like an adult would because you two have great responsibilities in this stronghold. Issei, you're the main force behind this safe house because you created it and you're also the leading scavenger. You bring back much more stuff than the other guys do. Chiharu, I took you in so I could train you to take over my spot as I need to focus on growing a vegetable garden for fresh food. The city's gonna run out of food one day and we're going to starve to death if I don't do anything! Not to mention the unhealthy food that everyone's eating now because of the lack of fresh fruit and meat!"

The both of us were dead silent, staring at the ground.

Hanako sighed, "I know you two do this to vent your anger, anxiety and fear, but you could at least tone it down a little." Chiharu and I muttered a short 'alright' in unison when Hanako finished scolding us with a gentle voice. Hanako nodded in happiness, told us both to lift our heads and not feel any shame or embarrassment and asked me to continue my report.

I continued and explained the rest of my day, including the close encounters, the betrayal, and then my escape into the school where I met Kimito. Talking about Kimito, I need to go and see him soon, "And that's what happened yesterday." Chiharu said nothing, which was unusual, and Hanako hummed in thought.

"That girl…you said this girl stabbed you in the heart, right? If she did, you should be dead. Is there a chance she missed?" I shrugged my shoulders and Hanako sighed, "Could you please take your shirt off? I want to see for myself." I went to pull my shirt off, realised that there was no scar or wound anymore and grimaced, "Is something wrong, Issei?" I sighed.

"It's just the fact that-!" The door was slammed open as Kamito burst into the room, panting for breath. I jumped to my feet, hastily glanced at Hanako who had just folded her arms and rushed over to my fellow scavenger.

"Kamito, what's up?" Chiharu had asked, a single arm slung behind her chair. Kamito straightened up when his name was mentioned and he took a deep breath.

"Come to the gate. Something is happening."

* * *

 **Yo, sorry for the delay. I found out that it's hard to write character interactions in a zombie apocalypse, as well as the peace that comes with a stronghold, so that's why this is…two weeks…late…sorry?**

 **Anyway, more characters, more interactions, more fun. With how short the chapters are, it seems as if every single one of them won't have enough development, right? Wrong! They all share the spotlight at some point! Tetsuya's already been in that spotlight but they're gonna return to it sooner or later. Next chapter will focus on Issei and Kamito, the character that my good friend RedSS had created. Sometimes Issei accidentally calls him Kimito ;)**

 **If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a review or somethin'. Maybe some suggestions as to what I could improve on, maybe a few plot points that you think are interesting, anything that could speed the production of this story up, if you want. I might not listen to suggestions, though.**

 **Also, I'm moving house in a couple of days (maybe, not sure on when I get the keys) and I'm busy with work, so I won't have internet for a bit and I'll be very busy, so have a 'Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year' if I don't report back before those events!**


	6. Chapter 6

"What exactly is that…thing?" I muttered to myself. I had my arms folded and let a single leg support my bodyweight as I observed the anomaly, devouring all of the visual details my eyes could collect. It was tall, had giant muscles, and wore nothing but a torn pair of basketball shorts. Not to mention it was a part of the undead army, but there were a few piles of red mush around it, indicating that it had killed some of its brethren. The several fresh bite marks, the bleeding stump fingers and the grey-green skin gave it away, after all. I didn't even need to hear its bellowing groans or see its face to know that.

I glanced at Kamito and saw his shoulders rise when he shrugged, a frown present on his face. He reached for his pistol, which was always secured on his belt. I reached out to grab his wrist with a glare and he understood what I was meaning to say, his hand slinking back to his side, "Just because the pistol has a 'silencer', it's not completely silent. We don't even know if the bullet would be strong enough to penetrate the skull of that thing, anyway, so it's not worth angering it." Kamito nod in response and I released a sigh of relief.

"How strong?" Kamito almost whispered. He was as quiet and mysterious as usual, and, despite his rare slipup and rash decisions, he was a good friend of mine. Kamito tends to be completely silent around those he doesn't know at all but with his decision to be a scavenger, he has opened up to me, even if it's just a little and I appreciated that. It just means that I'm someone he can trust.

"I'd say it may be able to destroy the fences or gate by itself. By the way, do you when the gate fortification was scheduled to happen?" Kamito shrugged in my peripherals and I barely noticed it. I sighed in response, reaching for a radio that wasn't in its satchel and grimaced, glancing at the main building from over my shoulder. "Kamito, you got a radio I can borrow?" He nod once and reached for the small yellow device on his belt, handing it to me with the apathy he almost always displays.

"Don't break it." I grinned as Kamito let a small smile slip onto his face. His words hold some value, though, as I have broken several radios in the past because of a mixture of rage, desperation and the usual accident or incident that is out of my control. I raised the radio to my mouth.

"Tetsuya, are you there?" I waited for a few seconds before a voice crackled to life on the other side of the radio.

" _I'm more conscious than a person in a coma, so go ahead, Issei."_ Kamito seemed to grin at the joke while I furrowed my brow. The joke was too dark for my liking.

"There's some kind of mutated infected here. It's giant and muscly, so Kamito and I reckon it can break our weak defences. Do you know when the fortification was scheduled and what day it was supposed to happen?"

" _Well, it was supposed to happen yesterday but…"_ I sighed as Tetsuya trailed off in a dramatic fashion.

"No one can be bothered to do anything." I finished his sentence, a hand already running through my hair. "That's understandable, though. An event as large as a zombie apocalypse would drain the will to live out of people. To be honest, I'm kind of waiting for someone to commit suicide from depression." I heard Tetsuya's breath hitch on the other side of the radio.

" _Me too…but if the people die, there'd be no point in protecting a whole_ school _of all things."_ Tetsuya was right. I was foolish to secure a large school for a small amount of people as the secured area is too large to protect, but it was the only thing I could do at the time. People were afraid and in despair and were going to get themselves bit, eaten, alive, or worse if no one did _something_ to stop them.

It turned out that I had saved a mostly useless population of the school. It doesn't surprise me, though. This school was a former girls-only campus, and even then a large amount were from overseas, were wealthy, or had no skills whatsoever. In short, practically useless.

"Well, there's not really any point in protecting them now, anyway. They do nothing but laze around all day while we guys nearly die to get food for them. And the only thing we get is a simple thanks!" I sighed and watched as a few undead collided with each other several times in a row. The sight of the undead acting idiotic brought a smile to my face.

" _What, were you expecting that you'd suddenly gain a harem for being so_ heroic _, Mister Harem King?"_ Tetsuya chuckled as I grimaced, almost wanting to shoot myself with Kamito's pistol as my feminine friend decided to embarrass me with my perverted past. I regained my composure, even though I knew Tetsuya couldn't see me, and coughed into a fist.

"Anyway, any news on the situation with Matsuda and Motohama?" Two undead collided with each other and fell to the floor, their expressions unchanging. After observing them for a while, I learnt that their behaviour, as simple as it may be, is rather erratic and unusual. In this universe, zombies _do_ exist as a fictional entity, so it's not like people didn't know what to do when the apocalypse started, but seeing the now non-fictional characters in the flesh and the way their bodies contort when they move is unsettling.

Tetsuya sighed from the other end of the radio, _"Unfortunately, there's only been radio silence since their last message…"_ Tetsuya was worried and so was I. I felt a frown slip onto my face as I tightened my grip on the radio, my knuckles turning white.

"Remember. Don't break." I turned to face Kamito and sighed, a hand running down my face.

"I know, I know. It's just…I fear that they may be dead." Kamito nod once and held a hand to his chin in thought. A small grin found its way onto his face.

"If they're infected, you can squash their heads like its watermelon." I shuddered at the thought but weakly smiled anyway. The thought of doing such a thing to my friends was unnerving and made me feel queasy, but I knew that Kamito was only trying to help me in his own special way and I appreciated that. I said nothing in response, opting to remain silent as I turned away from Kamito and back to the infected.

" _The last time I heard from them, they were apparently in a large park in the city. They said they were almost surrounded on all sides."_ My frown deepened.

"That's not good…do you think Hanako would let me look for them?" Tetsuya chuckled.

" _You know you can just leave, right? I can tell her what's going on for you, and if she's mad when you get back, you may as well kiss your scavenging career goodbye!"_

"Well, at least I wouldn't die then!" Tetsuya and I laughed together as Kamito remained silent, the grin still present on his otherwise stoic expression. His eyes weren't lit up from happiness or joy, his eyebrows were set into a thin line and none of his facial muscles seemed to be out of place. It's almost as if he's grinning because he wants to seem normal enough to everyone around him, regardless of the fact that I personally don't care about such things. Maybe he's trying to meet the social norm so he could fit in, even if society has disappeared entirely.

" _Well, your stuff is in your room, right? I could get it for you real quick."_ My laughter faded, but a grin remained. It went to show that I was still alive and wasn't an empty shell of a person like the other survivors and the undead.

And if I had to be honest, I'm enjoying this apocalypse more than I should be.

* * *

"How far until we're there, Kamito?" Kamito decided to tag along, leading the way through to the city. The park we were destined to head to was familiar to me; I knew its exact location and features and how to get to it just by looking at certain buildings and landmarks. Our journey was swift and silent as Kamito and I followed detours, secret alleys and shortcuts to avoid the larger groups of infected.

The undead grew in size as we approached the city, and so did the broken windows, doors, abandoned cars, dried up blood stains and trails, and the occasional corpse that seemed as if it could come alive at any second. It was a well-known fact that the apocalypse would devastate mankind and its cities, but no one ever thought it would be bad enough to outright destroy everything everyone has ever known.

What else would they expect, though? The undead are coming back from their restless slumber to eat people.

"Two kilometres." I held back a grimace as we slunk around a corner and into an alley. The buildings were growing taller, they were becoming more densely packed, and that meant trouble in the event we needed to escape. Going up was a bad idea. No way down without jumping and dying. Going straight was even worse as you wouldn't know what you would find. We had to be quiet and quick, more so than we already have been. Going back now was not an option anymore.

Kamito drew his pistol from his belt and peered around the corner as I patiently waited. My hand was on the hilt of a large kitchen knife, gripping it tightly as anxiety started to creep into my mind. Would we be able to sneak into the city? If we do, will we be able to escape? Will we die? Will I find Motohama and Matsuda dead, infected, or bitten? What will I do if I find them in any kind of negative state?

My mind began to slowly crumble as my fears began to form in my heart. I knew they weren't present before this exact moment, but the closer I was to discovering my two friends, the more anxious and fearful I became. It wasn't exactly easy to try and trick yourself into thinking that your friends will be alright when you've seen many people die under the same mindset.

I could only hope for the best, and the best is all I could hope for.

"What's up, Kamito?" He glanced at me and shrugged once. "We're not going to proceed?" Kamito shook his head and I sighed. "Why? Infected blocking a path?" A single nod was all the confirmation my fears needed.

I was dizzy and lightheaded. My hands started to shake, especially the hand on the knife. My brow was furrowed and my breathing was fast and shallow, almost as if I was going to stop breathing. My world spun around me and all sounds faded away as cold sweat ran down my face.

"They're fine." Kamito muttered, obviously noticing my atrocious state of being. The smooth, cold and oddly comforting words forced a large sigh out of my mouth. I closed my eyes and held a hand to my head, repeating Kamito's words over and over again in my mind.

"Whatever you say, I guess." I quietly shot back at him, crouching close to the ground as my finger slid through a puddle of fresh blood. "Hey, Kamito. Fresh blood here." Kamito glanced at my hand and then the blood, a frown forming on his face.

"Fresh." I nod my head with a tonne of exaggeration and wiped my finger down my pants, feeling the coarse material scrap the blood off of my appendage. Kamito crouched down opposite me and stared at the blood for a few moments before he grimaced, looking around the alley shortly after.

"Where there's fresh blood, there's hungry animals." An infected stumbled into the alley behind Kamito and I grimaced. "Kamito, infected behind you." He nod once and jumped to his feet, grabbing my knife from my hand with a blank stare. He sauntered over to the infected, grabbed them by the throat and shoved my blade through its skull in a single motion. He gently lowered the body to the ground and tossed my knife back at me as he approached the exit to the alley.

I let the knife bounce off of the ground instead of catching it as I didn't want to lose a finger or cut a hand and swiped it off of the ground. I jumped to my feet, leaped over the corpse of the infected and its blood puddle, and followed Kamito as we burst around the corner and into the street, making a dash for the distant park.

If it was a normal day, it would only take us a few minutes to sprint the whole two kilometres. It wasn't a normal day, though, as the blood hungry corpses of humans past wonder the street, hindering our progress.

I vaulted over the bonnet of an abandoned car and grabbed my knife in a reverse grip, slicing the hand of an infected off in an upwards arc as it tried to grab me. I ducked under its lunge, turned tail and ran for my life, glancing at the horde behind me and then at Kamito. He was doing just fine, dodging every clumsy attack and grapple, never losing speed.

He was more agile than me, and that meant he could easily maintain his absurdly quick pace while I struggled to keep up. It didn't help to know that the infected would slither out from underneath cars and limber out of nearby buildings ahead of us. We were slowly losing the horde that was behind us, though, so we had a minimal amount of time to clear a path for ourselves.

I ducked under a lunge, grabbed the wrist of an outstretched arm and pulled the infected towards me in a moment of rage, shoving my knife through its skull at an awkward angle. I tried to pull my knife out, felt a lot of resistance, and grimaced. I dropped the body, crouched low with a foot on the neck of the infected and yanked as hard as I could, surprised by how easily it came out. I fell onto my back with a cry, my head bouncing on the road.

My world went fuzzy.

I stared up at the sky as my body wouldn't respond to my commands, my hand occasionally twitching. In my peripheral vision, two blurred out figures approached me, the sounds they made faded and unrecognisable. The first one fell to my side and grabbed my left arm, their teeth beared as they launched their head forward.

I screamed as the pain brought my world back to me.

An infected, whose eyes were full of glee, quickly devoured a chunk of my flesh. I frantically reached around for my weapon and couldn't feel it, my eyes frozen in shock and fear. The second figure, another infected, lifted my right leg up into the air and growled. I pulled my free leg back and kicked it in the face, holding back the other infected with my injured arm planted on its throat as I held back tears.

I kicked the second infected in the face once more and it loosened its grip on my leg as its head snapped back. It was looking up at the sky. With one threat temporarily dealt with, I used my unoccupied hand to grab and pivot the head of the first infected into the floor, repeatedly smashing it into the road as I screamed in anger.

Blood exploded all over the road and my face.

Shards of its skull skittered and bounced along the floor.

Chunks of brain soared through the air.

Eventually, there was nothing but a pile of red.

A hand grabbed my shoulder and I growled, gripping the forearm that the hand belonged to as tight as I could. With a roar and a show of raw strength, the second infected was flipped over my shoulder and onto its back, its head cracking on the road below it. I grabbed the infected by its greasy hair and held its head in front of my face, its jaw snapping wildly as it tried to gnaw on my throat. I grinned and stood on my two feet, holding the infected in the air as its arms flailed around.

All of a sudden, I tossed it back onto the road and watched it bounce, my foot already in the air.

My foot went straight through the skull and the brain, touching the road below the obliterated head. I glanced up at the approaching horde, a maniac grin growing on my face. I scanned the ground for my knife, bent over, and scooped it up in my hand, observing the sharp object.

I felt blood run down my forearm, and only then did I snap out of my rage. My breath hitched as I observed my bite with a grimace, my blood steadily pouring from the wound and down to my elbow where it dripped onto the road. I glanced down the empty end of the street and didn't see any signs of life.

Not even Kamito.

Not even the one who I thought would help me.

Not the one that ran away.

* * *

 **I know it's been a while, but I have a good reason. I moved house and changed internet providers. Now, that may sound like nothing, but get this. My internet providers connected the internet to the old house, even though they sent the modem to the new house. I was set to be connected on the sixth of this month. They still haven't fixed it. So I've resorted to using a mobile data hotspot. I also rewrote the beginning of this chapter several times.**

 **Anyway, how's it been going? Did you miss me? Did you have a fun Christmas and New Year? I know I did.**

 **See you in the next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe in, breathe out.

 _Breathe in, breathe out._

I slid down the wooden door of the small apartment, a hand covering the bleeding wound I had previously sustained. The bite was itchy, pulsating and extremely painful; it was probably a culmination of the zombie virus finally kicking in, my fear and anxiety, and the emotional hole in my heart.

My breathing was shaky but quiet, my arm hanging limp by my side. I let it bleed as I lolled my head to the side, letting it rest on my shoulder as tears ran from eyes. I successfully held back strained sobs, letting my mind cry and scream instead. My backpack was on the wooden floorboards ahead of me.

"So…this is it, huh…?" I muttered to myself, staring down at the bite mark. The skin around the bite was slowly turning grey, my veins and nerves easily becoming visible through the decaying flesh. I flexed the bitten arm once, watching as blood spurted from the wound in a deranged amusement, and let the other hand return to its proper half of my body.

It was covered in a thin but viscous crimson.

It made me feel sick.

"The blood starts to thicken…?" I asked myself, watching the essence of life pool above the wound until it was forced to run down to the floorboards. I grimaced and slid further down the door until my head was resting on my chest. It was uncomfortable and that was enough to keep me from passing out.

It's not that I was tired, or shocked, or running out of blood.

It was because the infection wanted me to sleep; it wanted me to forget who I was and what I was supposed to be doing so I could peacefully die and return as a member of the undead army. Knowing that was an almost comedic thing as a terrible disease wanted your mind to peacefully die so your body can suffer.

I quietly chuckled, my eyelids becoming heavier by the second.

"What…was I supposed to be doing…?" No matter what I did, the infection would have its way. It was too late to cut my arm off, too late to say my goodbyes and it was too late to save my…friends? Was that the thing I was supposed to be doing? Saving my friends?

But who are my friends?

Right. The infection wanted me to forget everything, including my friends…but what are friends?

"Matsu…da…and…Moto…hama…?" I was dehydrated. The infection wanted me to die as fast as it could manage, so it would dehydrate me and starve me until those two things killed me. Unless it was able to evaporate all of the moisture in my body and disintegrate all of the proteins and glucose inside of me, I wasn't going to die. And it felt as it was going to do just those two things.

"That's right…I was supposed to be saving Matsuda and Motohama…but where?" I fumbled around for a radio that was supposed to be on me, but I couldn't find it. I quietly laughed as I realised what had happened. Tetsuya…who's Tetsuya?

"I'm…slowly forgetting…huh?"

All I wanted to do was sleep.

Sleep was all I wanted to do.

All I needed to do was sleep.

Sleep was all I needed to do.

My eyelids fluttered as I tried to stay conscious. My mind was becoming weak and so was my body. I was forgetting my life; all of my childhood experiences, the fun I had had with Irina, the day he left, my lonely middle school years, my introduction to the art of perversion and pornography, all of the things I had seen with Matsuda and Motohama, the beginning of the infection, the gruesome death of some people I knew…and my eventual downfall…

Should I…sleep?

"No…" I whispered, my voice coarse and dry. I tried to push myself up into a more comfortable sitting positioning, but found that my muscles were practically useless. Neither of my arms would work properly, and my legs were less despondent. I couldn't waggle any fingers, move any toes or lift my neck up. The only thing I could do was talk and look around.

Such a pitiful end to my existence.

I had thought I was born for some kind of grandeur or romance filled life, but here I am. I am here, in a seemingly abandoned apartment, slumping against a door as I uselessly lay in a small puddle of my own blood. No emotions, no words…and a few thoughts and emotions that were soon to fade with my blurring vision.

I'm slowly forgetting everything…including my name.

What…was my name…?

Iss…

…

So painful to remember…

If only…

I…

Could…

Remember…

…

Heat…in my arm…hurts…stabbing in…my arm…blurry vision…pain…death…?

"Urrghhagh…" Sound…? My body…moving…? What was my…name? I'm…hungry…

So…hungry…

Fresh…meat…blood…

I can smell it.

It's somewhere past this thing. This thing that keeps on blocking me. I hit it, bash my body against it and groan as I hit it. It doesn't break, but my body does. Red liquid comes from my bashy things as I hit the blocking thing over and over again. I don't feel anything, but red liquid comes from me.

My bashy thing grabs a cold thing and turns it. The blocky thing moves out of my way and I leave the trap place. My moving things make me move as I head towards the fresh blood…the fresh meat that I want. Red stuff runs out of my meat eating place and I lick it up.

It is blood, but it's not fresh.

Icky.

There are some…steps…? My head hurts as I think about the step thingy. Best to not see it. I move away from the bad place as my head starts to not hurt. I feel something inside of me and it makes my head hurt. I claw at the thing that covers me but it does nothing. I want the feely thing to go away.

I go back into the trap place and see another blocky thing. My bashy thing makes the blocky thing move and I move into the new trap place. I see something looking at me and my head starts to hurt. But the looking thing looks like fresh meat. So why is my head hurting? My bashy thing bashes against the looking thing and it explodes.

My head doesn't hurt anymore, but I want the fresh meat. I look down at the little pieces of the looking thing and my head starts to hurt again. I pick up a piece of the looking thing and it makes blood come from my bashy thing.

I lick the blood up but it doesn't taste good.

Icky.

I drop the looking thing and leave the new trap place and stay in the old one. I walk around until my moving things stop moving and I am stuck. I hit the cold thing below me and stay like that. My eyes begin to close.

It is dark now and I am hungry.

All I want is blood and fresh meat.

Not that icky stuff that comes out of me.

Not the icky stuff that comes out of my…friends…?

My head hurts again. I want to know what this friends thing is. Is it fresh meat?

Things like the looking thing are appearing in front of me and my head hurts more.

I claw at my head as it hurts.

Black hair and glasses…? Motohama? What is Motohama?

Brown hair…totally normal…? Kamito…what is Kamito?

My head hurts too much now.

I need fresh meat to help with the hurt.

But I can't get fresh meat. The steps stop me from getting fresh meat. What will I do to get fresh meat? My bashy things are meat. Is it fresh? The blood isn't fresh so the meat isn't fresh.

Icky.

Tatsuya…he uses…radios? What is a radio?

Kamito uses a gun.

Motohama likes his bat.

Matsuda likes his hatchet.

Hanako tells me where to go.

Chiharu doesn't like me.

The hurt is too much right now.

How do I get rid of the hurt?

Do I find the fresh Motohama and Matsuda meat? Wait…wasn't I…supposed to be finding the Motohama and Matsuda? What about the Kamito, and the Tetsuya, and the Hanako, and the Chiharu? Can I find those meats?

No, I can't. I was meant to find the Matsuda and Motohamas.

My looky things open and my body moves. I go down the steps and leave the big trap place. Other hurt people are looking for Matsuda and Motohamas too, aren't they? They want the fresh blood and meat just like me.

Well, they can't have it. The Matsuda and Motohamas are just for me. Their fresh blood is mine.

I push past the other hurt people and wander around, looking for the Matsuda and Motohamas. I wonder if they taste good. Are they fresh? I hope they're fresh. Fresh will help with the hurt. I can't deal with the hurt. I can never deal with the hurt.

Should I stop thinking about the fresh Matsuda and Motohamas? It'll stop the hurt. But if I stop the hurt, I won't get the Matsuda and Motohamas and I'll still be hungry.

…

The hungry hurts more than the hurt, so I'll find the Matsuda and Motohamas before the other hurt find them. The Matsuda and Motohamas are mine. Their fresh blood is mine. Their fresh meat is mine. I need them before the other hurt get to them first because they're _mine_.

I see two not hurt running into a small outside trap place. I get to there before the other hurt do because they didn't see the not hurt. Are they the Matsuda and Motohamas that will stop the hurt and hungry? I hope so. The hungry and hurt is too much.

The two not hurt make my head hurt when my looky things look at them.

One not hurt has a bat and glasses. The second not hurt has a hatchet and a shaved head. They look at me with their looky things and not blood comes out of their looky things, "Oh no…Issei, is that you?" The bat not hurt says.

"Graurghhhh." I make a sound and my moving things make me move at them. The hatchet not hurt raises his hatchet and the bat not hurt grabs his arm.

"He still has to be in there somewhere, right?" The bat not hurt sounded. The hatchet not hurt takes his bashy arm from the bat not hurt.

"It's too late, Motohama…Issei died and has been replaced by this monster."

"Nghaaaaaaaaaa." I move towards them again, but my bashy things are raised at them. The hatchet not hurt moves towards me and raises his hatchet into the air.

"I'm sorry, Issei, buddy…I'm sorry…please forgive me, Issei…"

Issei…who is Issei…is that me? Is that what the fresh Matsuda and Motohamas are calling me? Am I a fresh Issei?

The hurt is too much.

My bashy things scratch my head as I lie on the cold…road…

The hatchet not hurt steps back.

"What the…" The bat not hurt uses his looky things to look at something and pushes the hatchet not hurt out of his way. A light thing misses both of them.

"Oh my, what is this?" A black feather thing lands in front of me. I reach a bashy thing out to grab the fresh meat but I cannot reach. "I thought I killed Issei, but it turns out he was turned into an infected instead. How sad!" The hurt is too much. Who is an Issei? Is that me? I need fresh meat to stop the hurt. The hurt is worse than the hungry now, but I want to know what an Issei is.

"You…we thought you were gone for good!" The bat not hurt shouts as the hatchet not hurt uses his moving things to stand. The black feather laughs.

"You think you can kill me?" The bat not hurt raises his bat.

"Yes! You've hurt us more than enough, so it's time you pay for what you've done!" What hurt? The two not hurt aren't hurt at all. What did black feather do to them to hurt them? They don't want fresh meat!

"Hmm…how have I hurt you…?" The black feather grabbed the bat not hurt by the arm and used her bashy thing to throw him into a wall. He fell to the ground. The hatchet not hurt tried to do the same thing as the bat not hurt and was also thrown into a wall.

"You…you nearly killed Kamito…and we had to leave him there…at the…" The bat not hurt screamed as he charged at the black feather. The black feather picked him up by the neck and held him in the air.

"That's not the worst thing I've done." The bat not hurt screamed as the black feather twisted one of his bashy things until it snapped. Fresh blood landed near me. "So I'm going to make you hurt real bad." The black feather dropped the bat not hurt next to me and went over to the hatchet not hurt. "Do you want to feel pain as well, little boy?" I grabbed the bat not hurt by the arm and pulled myself over to him.

He made weird sounds as I was above him.

"Issei…I know you're not infected…you're just playing around right? Remember all the things we did? Spying on the kendo club, getting beat up by the kendo club, trying to see Rias' panties? Do you remember all of that?" The bat not hurt raised his bashy thing and put it on my face. My hurt is worse and I want it to stop. The fresh meat is in front of me, but I won't do it.

I want the hurt. I want it to hurt even worse.

"Moto…hama…?" I made a weird sound as not blood came out of the fresh meat's looky things.

"Yes, I'm Motohama! I'm your best friend, Issei! Remember? Do you remember Matsuda as well?" I looked over to where the hatchet not hurt was and at the black feather. The black feather wanted to steal my fresh meat and blood from me.

She wanted to steal Matsuda and Motohama from me and I wasn't going to allow that.

"Raynare…you bitch…" I made a weird sound as my legs made me stand. Raynare turned to face me and I snarled, raising my hands to protect my face. I darted over to her and swung a fist. She tilted her head back and planted a foot on my stomach, using all of her strength to make my feet skid against the road.

"Oh? Issei's not infected, then. I guess I'll have to kill him again!" She lunged at me and I dodged her attack, feeling the hurt on my stomach make me remember something. The black feather was called Raynare and she had tried to kill me after I risked my life to save her. And for that, she was the one that was going to die!

"I'm going to fucking kill you, Raynare. You're going to regret what you've done!" I grabbed her hair and yanked her head back, a small yelp coming out of her as flung onto the road. I planted a foot on her chest, slowly pressed down on her ribs and watched with glee as she struggled to breathe. She grabbed me by the ankle, though, and tripped me up. I landed next to my Motohama and watched as a light thing flew towards my face.

I grabbed it before it hit me and crushed it in a single hand.

I jumped to my feet and slowly clenched a fist in front of me.

I was stronger now.

I was much stronger than when I was not hurt.

And that meant I could win.

Because the hurt is making me remember everything from when I was not hurt.

I want it to hurt even more.

I spun to the side and dodged a flurry of fists, sending a quick jab at the side of Raynare's head in retaliation. She deflected it with an arm and sent a fist towards my throat, but I caught it before it could connect. I stopped a quick hook with my other hand and stared into Raynare's purple eyes, a grin on my face.

"Fresh meat." Was all I had said before I pulled my head back as far as I could, along with my body, before I sent it flying towards Raynare's own skull. I grinned as I anticipated the ending of this duel.

However, my happiness was short-winded as Raynare planted both of her feet against my stomach with bent legs. My eyes widened and I prepared to curse, but the dislocation of both shoulders was enough to make me howl in pain instead. I bounced off of a wall, fell flat onto my face and felt blood come out of my cheek.

I felt the hurt go away a little as I tried to move my arms.

They wouldn't move. What are arms? I thought they were bashy things.

The hurt is going away. I was forgetting everything.

The black feather grabbed the hatchet not hurt's hatchet as they attacked the black feather. The black feather inspected the hatchet for a few seconds before she raised it into the air.

I knew what Raynare was going to do.

She was going to kill Matsuda, Motohama and then me.

And I'll have to suffer because I'll never get my fresh meat or blood.

Somehow, I managed to stand on my feet without using my arms. I limbered over to Raynare, pulled my head back to bite her shoulder, and felt her elbow connect with my forehead. My head snapped back so I was looking up at the grey sky.

What was I doing again?

There is no hurt anymore and I'm not hungry.

But my left arm burns.

Raynare's going to kill Matsuda, right? So I should stop that bitch before she can do it. Just thinking about it is making me pissed beyond words. I should stop her, but I can't. I'm infected, right? I can't control myself. I can't remember anything. I can't _do anything_.

But I can save Matsuda and Motohama and then kill Raynare.

After all, Matsuda and Motohama just aren't fresh meat.

"They're my best friends." I whispered to myself.

A white light blinded everyone in the alley all at once.

* * *

 **Yo. How was this chapter? It's different, right? Issei was infected, so that's why it was written weird. That's also why it may seem confusing. Anyway, did you enjoy the chapter? Was it good? Was it bad? Could I have done better?**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **This was written _super fast_ for my my buddy RedSS, so I hope you enjoy this chapter, friend!**


	8. Chapter 8

**[Boost!]**

My fist connected with Raynare's face as a crimson gauntlet formed around it, a deep, booming voice coming out of it. Raynare's head snapped back and she growled, cracking her neck as I slowly backed away. She tossed the hatchet at me with as much force as she could muster and I raised my new gauntlet, staring at my reflection in a large green jewel that was embedded in it.

My skin was grey. It was as grey as the sky. My eyes were bloodshot and the whites of them were a light yellow, but they were puffy and iritated. There was blood in the corners of my eyes, almost as if I was ready to cry, and the brown colour of my iris was an onyx. My lips were bloodied and my hair was unnaturally thin and my teeth were a dark yellow.

I shuddered as the hatchet bounced off of my gauntlet, my other arm reaching up to grab it. There was no pain in my shoulders and I was able to move my limbs without any issue, even though they were supposed to be _dislocated_ and unusable. Raynare dodged my first strike and parried the second with one of her glowing weapons, the fragile thing instantly shattering.

It did send my arm flying back, leaving me defenceless as I tried to retain my balance. Raynare ducked into my guard and grinned up at me, raising a fist in an uppercut. I grimaced and tilted my head back, feeling the air bend around her fist as it missed my chin by a few millimetres.

 **[Boost!]**

I raised a knee and heard the air leave Raynare's lungs as it had connected with her stomach, the fallen angel falling onto her back moments later. She bounced, used a hand to pivot her body and flipped, landing on her feet. She was spluttering and coughing, but she was quick to regain her breath, "The Boosted Gear, huh? This may prove to be a challenging fight!"

"The Boosted...Gear…?" I had never heard of such a thing, but it was giving me an advantage in this fight. Every time the rumbling voice said 'boost', I felt faster, stronger and tougher. I was able to beat Raynare with the help of this gauntlet.

"Yup. Special powers, all of that crap. Never thought it would have been put with you, though." Raynare cracked her neck again and I raised a fist, protecting my face while the arm with the hatchet was limp by my side.

"Well, I guess I'm just a fortunate person." I lunged at Raynare and swung the hatchet up in an arc, watching as Raynare had to bend her whole body back to avoid being cut open. She fell onto her hands, pulled a leg back and kicked me in the stomach with the force of a freight train.

Pain exploded through my body all at once as the air in my lungs left me in an instant, sending me careening into a nearby wall. I was hunched over, trying my hardest to breathe, feeling my chest burn and hurt while my mind started to panic.

I was going to die.

I was going to die.

I was going to die, even though I was already dead.

I fell forwards as a light spear was thrown at me. The small object pierced the wall behind me and shattered in an instant, leaving a small hole in the brick. My gauntlet clad hand clenched the fabric of my shirt as my eyes widened.

Black spots were starting to appear in my vision.

With my free hand, the one that was still clenching the hatchet, I pushed my body up as far as I could before I fell onto my chest once more. I formed a fist, punched my chest a few times and gave up, laying still on the floor. I was focusing on trying to breathe.

"Cat got your tongue, Issei?" Raynare planted her foot on my back, digging her heel into my spine. If I was able to, I would have gasped from the pain and would have made a snarky remark. But I was unable to. I couldn't breathe. "How unfortunate. You unlock your deepest power and die in the same hour. All because you couldn't breathe. How pathetic." I grimaced and clumsily threw the hatchet in a random direction behind me. Raynare chuckled as it landed on the floor in front of me moments later.

I grabbed the hatchet and, in a final attempt to regain my ability to breathe, cut my arm open.

All of the air rushed into my lungs as I choked on a scream. I spluttered and coughed and gasped and almost cried from the pain. The viscous blood of an infected spurt out of the wound as if it was a volcano, the hot, sticky magma warming up my cold arm. I grimaced, placed my two hands on the floor and forced my body up, even though Raynare was putting as much force as she could muster on my back.

I jumped up, forcing Raynare to stumble back as she had lost her balance, and quickly spun around. I lunged at her, tackling her to the ground. I pinned her arms to the ground, straddling her waist so she couldn't harm me with her legs, and grinned. "Checkmate."

Raynare growled and tried to wrench an arm out of my grasp.

"You…! You sneaky human fuck." My grin widened.

"All is fair in love and war." I felt the urge to wink but I prevented myself from doing so.

 **[Boost!]**

"Let me go, human!" I sighed and slowly shook my head.

"Nope. You tried to kill me twice and you tried to kill my friends. You seriously hurt one of them, and you fatally hurt me." Raynare huffed.

"How did you survive that wound? I'm sure I hit your heart."

"Well, it's because I'm fabulous." I did wink this time, and Raynare growled again.

 **[Boost!]**

"Tell me." I sighed.

"Fine. Only because you're being mean." There was a small silence before I met Raynare's hot glare.

"Aren't you going to tell me?" I hummed and tilted my head to the side.

"I'm trying to decide if I should tell you the truth or if I should mess with you." Raynare tried to thrash her arms around but my grip was too tight. She couldn't move, even if she wanted to.

"I swear…if you lie to me, you're gonna regret it!"

"Well, if you say so. To be honest, I don't even know how I survived!" I poked my tongue out with a wink and Raynare tried to spit on me. Unfortunately, gravity exists, so her own spit splattered all over her face.

 **[Boost!]**

"You…! Fine. If that's the truth, I'll believe you. Now, when are you going to get off of me?" I pursed my lips.

"Well, I don't know if I should. You _did_ try to kill us…so…" I trailed off in thought. Should I let Raynare go? I mean, she did try to kill me and my friends, but if I don't let her go, what am I going to do with her? Handcuff her? Tie her up with rope? Where would I leave her? In the middle of the street? In a random building?

"So…?" Raynare repeated the latest word I had said, prompting me to speak. I glanced up at the entrance of the alley and lo and behold, a swarm of my fellow infected were milling about. They were definitely going to try and eat us…well, maybe not me, but they will definitely go for Raynare and my two incapacitated friends.

"Soooo, if you help me defeat the infected and get my friends to safety, I'll let you go. " Raynare narrowed her eyes.

"Why should I help _you_?" I smirked.

"Well, your life is in my hands…so, if I was you, I would accept my offer!" Raynare clicked her tongue and sighed.

"Fine. I'll help you." I was initially surprised, but I jumped off of her with a smile and held a hand out. She begrudgingly accepted my help and I pulled her to her feet. She turned around, stood next to me with her arms folded and sighed again.

 **[Boost!]**

"So…any idea what we're going to do?" She asked. I glanced at her, clenched my fists and stretched my arms above my head. They fell forward, falling until they were completely horizontal. I used my index fingers to point at the infected and gathered my breath.

"I…don't know! Attack!" I jumped into the middle of the group of infected and flung my fists around as if they were simple pieces of paper. Everywhere they went, they would break bones, dismember the undead, make heads explode, and generally destroy the infected.

I felt like a god.

I was fuelled by adrenaline. I was filled with excitement. I was finally having fun in an undead wonderland, "Step up your game, Raynare!" I shouted as I pummelled an undead's head into oblivion. Somewhere off in the distance, I heard Raynare shout something, but I was so focused on obliterating my opponents that I didn't hear what she had said.

I spared a glance in her direction and grit my teeth.

She was doing nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not even throwing those fancy light spears of hers that are strong enough to pierce a brick wall. Zilch, zip, nada. I growled and shrugged the arm of an infected off of me, twisting to the side to avoid a lunge, "Nice try, buddy!" My palm connected with the back of the infected's skull and their grey matter exploded all over the road below me, blood exploding all over the front of my pants.

I was stupid to believe that Raynare would help me. I was also an idiot for letting her go so easily, even though I could have killed her with a single punch. I could have knocked her out, tied her up, ripped her arms off and generally do whatever I would have wanted to. But I let her go on a whim, believing in the idea that she would actually do something for me. And here I was, fighting an entire horde of infected by myself.

I grimaced as a pair of sharp teeth sunk into my shoulder, the entire weight of an infected trying to pull me down. I was stronger than the infected, so I was able to shrug it off with ease, swiftly ending its life with a fist to the face. However, the moment I had done so, I had left myself more vulnerable than I already was.

I grit my teeth as I was pulled to the floor, the undead piling themselves on top of me without any hesitation. They bit and scratched and clawed and dug their nails into my skin. Every time they hurt me, my anger rose and my control over my temper lessened. A fire was building up inside of me.

And, with a single burst of energy, I shoved the pile of undead off of me as if they were a single feather. Several of them flew into nearby buildings or cars, while a few of the luckier ones snapped in half on a pole or traffic light or only landed a few feet away from me. It made a dent in the horde of undead, though, so I took a moment to wipe some sweat off of my face.

I glanced at the spot where I had last seen Raynare.

She wasn't there. I rapidly took in my surroundings in a flurry of anger and excitement. The fallen angel thought she could escape, but I'd catch her before she could travel a few buildings worth of space. I tilted my head to look up at the sky and saw the pale girl wink at me. I didn't say anything, though. I only crouched low to the ground and ignored the infected, gathering as much power in my legs as I could.

I steadied my breath, stared at the retreating form of Raynare and pounced, flying through the air at unimaginable speeds. It only took a second to catch up with her, and even after I had wrapped my arms around her with the intent of crashing into the road below us, we continued to travel through the air, "Get off of me!"

Raynare kicked, and clawed and squirmed as I watched the blurred street below us. I glanced up a moment later and was going to tell Raynare to stop struggling, but all I could see was the wall of a tall building. I crashed through the brick wall head first, bouncing off of a carpet floor, bursting through a door at breakneck speeds and then a wall a moment later, followed by a second wall that lead to a corridor.

I dropped Raynare, firmly planted my two feet on the floor and attempted to maintain some kind of balance as I skid down the narrow and awfully short space. Raynare rolled and tumbled in front of me as we slowly came to a stop, my heels creating a small trench in the floor that slowed me faster than Raynare's tumbling, and this allowed the body of the fallen angel to launch itself at me. I hit a door, my momentum instantly disappearing, and I quickly rose my hands, catching Raynare.

She peacefully lay in my arms as I held her in what was known as the 'Bridal Style' or 'Princess Style'. No flailing of the limbs, no snarky remarks or escape attempts and certainly no fuss. It was almost surreal as Raynare seemed to be the type of girl that would punch me in the face whenever she could. In fact, her lack of movement was almost discerning. Had she died?

She looked up at me through her dishevelled hair and sighed to express her disappointment, a frown instantly forming on her face, "So I lose?" Was she all asked through grit teeth, her voice barely a whisper. I grinned and slowly slid down the door, continuing to hold her against my body, despite the pain I was feeling in my face.

 **[Boost!]**

"You lose. Now, will you submit yourself to me?" Raynare somehow choked on her breath. She glared at me as she miraculously spat out the air that was blocking her airway, quickly crossed her arms and huffed.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" My grin widened.

"Well, you must accept me as the superior being." Raynare rose an eyebrow.

"Is that all?" I sighed and shook my head, sweat dripping from my cheek.

"Unfortunately not. To ensure that you do not harm any more people, mainly me and the people I am associated with, you will have to follow me around until I can trust you." Raynare glared at me once more, a growl forming in her throat. I stared back at her, blinking a few times before she blew a strand of hair off of her face with a huff.

"Fine. I submit myself to you. Anyway, weren't you protecting your friends?" I hummed in thought as I managed to push myself to my feet without my hands. Raynare jumped out of my hold and brushed some dust and chunks of plaster off of her skirt and shirt, a small grimace instantly forming.

I snapped my fingers in realisation.

 **[Boost!]**

"That's right! How could I forget!?" I instantly burst down the corridor as my two friends entered my mind, quickly reaching the room we had smashed through at a high velocity. I jumped through the giant hole in the outer wall that was created when I had hit the brick formation and flew through the air for a couple of seconds before I realised that I was going to die.

I had just jumped out of a very high building and the floor I had come from was nowhere near the bottom. In fact, I was near the very top of said building and that only meant certain death as there were a rough sixty floors.

I screamed on my way down, watching the ground close in at an astounding speed. I raised my arms to cover my face, closed my eyes and relaxed my entire body, hoping that I would survive the fall, even though I knew I wouldn't, even with my new power. Except, I didn't hit the floor. Someone had grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and had guided me down to the ground at a slower rate, "Thanks, Raynare. You're a lifesaver!" I turned to face the fallen angel once I had landed on the ground but she was already moving again, speeding down the street.

I sighed with as much exaggeration as I could, raising my shoulders and dropping them as I did so. I didn't like that she had ignored me, but at least she had prevented my death. With that in mind, I began to sprint down the street as fast I could.

It was clear I had avoided death way too many times today.

* * *

 **Yo, how's it going? I spent time with this chapter. After writing the first part (the small fight scene), writing the rest felt…weird. It was almost as if I was a beginner writer again because the words I would write made the sentence sound wrong…or not what I'd usually write (in a bad way).**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **See you next time!**


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